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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  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. nail — on a finger
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. shower — rain
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. content — happy
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. shower — to wash
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. perch — the fish
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mouse — the animal
  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