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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. sharp — clever
  4. row — a line
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. lean — thin
  13. bulb — for light
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bear — the animal
  20. lean — to bend
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — to put up with

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