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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lean · land · content · bear · cell · hide · bat · perch

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. lean — thin
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bat — the animal
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. content — the amount
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. land — to come down
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cell — in biology
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. lean — to bend
  18. land — a country
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. content — happy
  21. land — ground
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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