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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. content — happy
  2. staff — employees
  3. content — the amount
  4. rush — hurry
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chest — a box
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. staff — a stick
  15. game — a match
  16. perch — the fish
  17. staff — employees
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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