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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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bay · swing · content · perch · staff · hand · dip · race

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — a contest
  7. staff — employees
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. hand — help
  10. swing — in golf
  11. staff — a stick
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. content — happy
  14. dip — to sink
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — music
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. race — humankind
  23. perch — the fish
  24. content — the amount

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