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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. net — in sport
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. saw — the tool
  6. shower — rain
  7. content — the amount
  8. saw — the tool
  9. content — happy
  10. bore — to tire
  11. shower — to wash
  12. net — for catching
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bore — to drill
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. net — after costs
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. cap — a lid
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cap — of ice
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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