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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. court — of law
  5. stem — to come from
  6. saw — the tool
  7. scale — in music
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. pop — music
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. pop — soda
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. pop — to visit
  19. content — the amount
  20. saw — the tool
  21. snap — to click
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. stem — of a plant

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