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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. chest — of your body
  3. staff — employees
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — the amount
  6. march — music
  7. rest — what's left
  8. spell — magic
  9. bear — the animal
  10. staff — a stick
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. rest — a break
  14. chest — a box
  15. perch — the fish
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spell — letters
  18. content — happy
  19. bear — the animal
  20. spell — a short time
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. staff — employees
  24. rest — what's left

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