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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. net — after costs
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. net — in sport
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. content — happy
  8. net — for catching
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. perch — the fish
  12. tube — a container
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. lean — to bend
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — the amount
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a ring
  21. tube — the underground
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. stem — to come from
  24. lean — thin

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