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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. march — music
  3. perch — the fish
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. tube — a container
  7. face — to point toward
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. face — to confront
  10. tube — the underground
  11. ball — a dance
  12. content — happy
  13. march — the month
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. face — part of the head
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a great time
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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