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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. spell — a short time
  5. content — happy
  6. row — a line
  7. spell — letters
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. root — of a word
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. content — the amount
  13. wax — to grow
  14. root — the cause
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. root — of a plant
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. stand — to bear
  21. row — to paddle
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. perch — the fish

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