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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. mate — to breed
  3. content — happy
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. stem — to come from
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. content — the amount
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rush — hurry
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. perch — the fish
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cell — a phone
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cell — in biology
  20. shower — rain
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. last — finally
  23. last — final
  24. mate — a friend

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