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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. drill — a practice
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. march — music
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. march — the month
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. drill — the tool
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. cold — an illness
  16. perch — the fish
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. march — the month
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. content — happy
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. drill — army training
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. cold — not warm

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