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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. can — a tin
  5. track — a song
  6. perch — the fish
  7. can — a tin
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. kid — child
  10. shower — rain
  11. track — to keep track
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. can — to be able to
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. kid — to tease
  19. content — the amount
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. shower — to wash
  22. track — a path
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. nail — for a hammer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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