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

Word bank: ruler · perch · fine · band · chair · content · tear · cold

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fine — high quality
  6. perch — the fish
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. tear — from crying
  9. band — a ring
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. content — happy
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. fine — all right
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. chair — a leader
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cold — an illness
  21. tear — to rip
  22. band — a music group
  23. tear — from crying
  24. ruler — for measuring

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