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

Word bank: content · perch · wound · nail · rash · cell · bay · race

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cell — in biology
  3. perch — the fish
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cell — a phone
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. race — a contest
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. content — the amount
  16. rash — a series
  17. content — happy
  18. race — humankind
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. race — the arms race

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