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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 120 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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. prune — to trim
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. squash — to crush
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. content — happy
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. capital — a city
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — letters
  19. squash — the sport
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bear — the animal
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. capital — money
  24. spell — magic

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