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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. staff — employees
  4. land — ground
  5. branch — a division
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. scale — in music
  10. staff — employees
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. scale — size or range
  13. row — a line
  14. land — to come down
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. land — a country
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. staff — a stick
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. content — happy
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. perch — the fish

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