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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. lean — to bend
  5. wind — moving air
  6. land — to come down
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. court — of a king
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. wind — moving air
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. land — a country
  15. content — happy
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. content — the amount
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. perch — the fish
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. land — ground

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