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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: content · degree · leaves · ground · perch · rash · current · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. rash — hasty
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. degree — from a university
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rash — a series
  10. current — of water
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. ground — a position
  13. current — electric
  14. perch — the fish
  15. content — happy
  16. content — the amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. chair — a leader
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. degree — an amount
  23. current — happening now
  24. leaves — to go away

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