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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. content — happy
  7. net — in sport
  8. spring — of water
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. spring — the season
  12. content — the amount
  13. net — for catching
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. lean — to bend
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. lean — thin
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wake — a trail
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. net — after costs
  23. bark — to shout
  24. perch — the fish

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