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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.

Make a worksheet

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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. content — the amount
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. land — ground
  5. content — happy
  6. scale — size or range
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. row — to paddle
  9. land — to come down
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. march — the month
  14. land — a country
  15. row — a line
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. scale — in music
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. march — music
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. march — the month

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