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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. scale — size or range
  3. lean — to bend
  4. content — happy
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. content — the amount
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bore — to drill
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. lean — thin
  17. cell — a phone
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. mate — a friend
  21. scale — in music
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bore — to tire
  24. cell — in biology

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