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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 116 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. perch — the fish
  3. tear — from crying
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. firm — steady
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. firm — a company
  8. tear — from crying
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. firm — decided
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. clip — for paper
  17. tear — to rip
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. sharp — clever
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. content — happy
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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