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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. root — of a word
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. toast — bread
  6. content — happy
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. root — of a plant
  10. swing — in golf
  11. content — the amount
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. swing — music
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. root — the cause
  16. swing — to play on
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. branch — a division
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. perch — for a bird

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