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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. fall — to drop
  3. spell — letters
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. spell — a short time
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. perch — the fish
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. field — a subject
  13. content — happy
  14. field — farmland
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. content — the amount
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. spell — magic
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — a division
  23. fall — the season
  24. field — for sport

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