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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 116 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: rest · squash · mate · sharp · content · perch · deal · leaves

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. mate — a partner
  5. rest — what's left
  6. sharp — clever
  7. rest — a break
  8. mate — to breed
  9. squash — to crush
  10. rest — what's left
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — to handle
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. content — happy
  17. mate — a friend
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. content — the amount
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. sharp — exactly

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