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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 116 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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rock — a stone
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mark — a grade
  5. content — happy
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rock — music
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. content — the amount
  20. perch — the fish
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. game — a match

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