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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. ground — crushed
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. mark — a trace
  7. ground — a position
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — happy
  14. drill — army training
  15. content — the amount
  16. ground — the earth
  17. perch — the fish
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. drill — the tool
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. drill — a practice
  24. mark — a grade

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