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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. chair — a leader
  4. content — the amount
  5. land — a country
  6. land — to come down
  7. vault — a safe
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. content — happy
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. chip — to eat
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. clip — a video
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. perch — for a bird

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