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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. present — a gift
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. content — the amount
  9. fork — in a road
  10. face — part of the head
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. perch — the fish
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. face — to confront
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. present — there
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. present — the time now
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. face — to point toward
  24. nail — for a hammer

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