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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. content — the amount
  7. cell — in biology
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cell — a phone
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. tear — to rip
  15. perch — the fish
  16. chest — of your body
  17. drill — a practice
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wake — a trail
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. chest — a box
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wake — before a funeral

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