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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. capital — money
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. root — of a word
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. content — the amount
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tear — from crying
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — the cause
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. capital — a city
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. content — happy
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. tear — to rip

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