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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mark — a trace
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. saw — the tool
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. perch — the fish
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. content — the amount
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. game — a match
  14. content — happy
  15. capital — a city
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. game — wild animals
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mark — a grade
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. capital — money

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