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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pit — in a race
  4. perch — the fish
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cold — an illness
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. land — to come down
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. land — ground
  13. hand — help
  14. cold — not warm
  15. content — the amount
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. content — happy
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. land — a country
  22. pit — a hole
  23. chest — of your body
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com