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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  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. content — happy
  2. tear — from crying
  3. content — the amount
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. hand — help
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. key — for a lock
  13. tear — from crying
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — in music
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bowl — a dish
  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