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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. staff — a stick
  4. drill — the tool
  5. staff — employees
  6. cell — in biology
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. staff — employees
  16. bat — the animal
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. content — happy
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. leaves — to go away

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