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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bank — of a river
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. bear — the animal
  5. field — a subject
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. mark — a grade
  8. bear — the animal
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a trace
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. field — for sport
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. content — happy
  17. bank — for money
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. field — farmland
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bat — the animal
  22. perch — the fish
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bank — for 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