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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. land — to come down
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. content — happy
  5. land — a country
  6. perch — the fish
  7. land — ground
  8. spell — magic
  9. bat — the animal
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. spell — letters
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spell — a short time
  15. tear — to rip
  16. content — the amount
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. tear — from crying

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