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

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. lean — thin
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bat — the animal
  6. content — happy
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lean — to bend
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bat — in an idiom

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