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

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. lean — to bend
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. lean — thin
  7. content — happy
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. track — to keep track
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. track — a song
  17. track — a path
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bass — low music
  20. perch — the fish
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bass — the fish
  23. content — the amount
  24. lean — to rest against

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