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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bat — the animal
  4. march — the month
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. march — the month
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. bass — low music
  12. content — happy
  13. march — music
  14. file — a document
  15. foot — a measure
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. content — the amount
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. file — a tool
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. deal — to handle
  22. perch — the fish
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bat — in an idiom

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