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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bark — to shout
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. perch — the fish
  7. spell — magic
  8. content — the amount
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. content — happy
  12. spell — letters
  13. court — of law
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. court — for sport
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bat — the animal
  21. deal — to handle
  22. court — of a king
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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