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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. shower — to wash
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. tear — to rip
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. shower — rain
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. track — a song
  18. tear — from crying
  19. track — a path
  20. content — happy
  21. land — to come down
  22. track — to keep track
  23. squash — to crush
  24. content — the amount

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