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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. ground — a position
  4. cap — a hat
  5. mate — a friend
  6. march — the month
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. kick — in football
  10. perch — the fish
  11. ground — the earth
  12. march — the month
  13. ground — crushed
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. mate — to breed
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chest — of your body
  20. march — music
  21. cap — of ice
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. cap — a lid
  24. mate — a partner

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