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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. content — the amount
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. track — to keep track
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. track — a path
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. content — happy
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. root — the cause
  15. track — a song
  16. root — of a plant
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — a stone
  19. root — of a word
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. perch — for a bird

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