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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 124 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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. game — a match
  5. perch — the fish
  6. spring — of water
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. content — the amount
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. mate — to breed
  13. chair — a leader
  14. spring — a coil
  15. present — a gift
  16. game — wild animals
  17. content — happy
  18. present — the time now
  19. spring — the season
  20. mate — a partner
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mate — a friend
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. present — there

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