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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — hurry
  5. content — happy
  6. spell — magic
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. spell — a short time
  9. row — to paddle
  10. content — the amount
  11. scale — in music
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. cell — a phone
  17. row — a line
  18. spell — letters
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. scale — size or range
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. cell — in biology
  24. can — a tin

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