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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 120 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. content — happy
  7. drill — the tool
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. drill — army training
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. drill — a practice
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. content — the amount
  14. prune — to trim
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. prune — to trim
  17. craft — boats
  18. craft — a skill
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. perch — the fish
  24. tube — a container

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