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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. scale — size or range
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a great time
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. spell — a short time
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. content — happy
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wind — moving air
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. scale — in music
  14. ball — a dance
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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