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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. lean — to bend
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. content — happy
  6. lean — thin
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wake — a trail
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — to come from
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. tube — the underground
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. tube — a container
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. perch — the fish

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