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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 120 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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — happy
  7. band — a music group
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. march — music
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. march — the month
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. band — a ring
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. vault — a safe
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. march — the month

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