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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — music
  3. perch — the fish
  4. roll — a cake
  5. court — of a king
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. content — the amount
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cell — in biology
  11. court — of law
  12. cell — a phone
  13. roll — a list
  14. tear — to rip
  15. stand — to bear
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rock — a stone
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. tear — from crying
  20. court — for sport
  21. content — happy
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. content — videos and posts

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