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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. capital — money
  3. content — the amount
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. file — a document
  7. chest — a box
  8. capital — a city
  9. rock — music
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. content — happy
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — a stone
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — thin
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. swing — to play on
  21. lean — to bend
  22. chest — of your body
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chest — of your body

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