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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 120 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. last — finally
  4. perch — the fish
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. row — a line
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. content — happy
  11. fall — to drop
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bark — to shout
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. last — final
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. last — to go on
  23. row — to paddle
  24. content — the amount

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