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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. stand — to bear
  3. content — happy
  4. mark — a trace
  5. perch — the fish
  6. key — in music
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. net — after costs
  9. clip — for paper
  10. court — of a king
  11. clip — a video
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. key — for a lock
  15. mark — a grade
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. court — of law
  18. net — for catching
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. clip — to cut
  21. court — for sport
  22. net — in sport
  23. key — the most important part
  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