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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: swing · lie · bore · perch · wake · fall · cold · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. swing — in golf
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wake — a trail
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cold — not warm
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to drill
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. fall — the season
  13. swing — music
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bore — to tire
  16. perch — the fish
  17. fall — to drop
  18. swing — to play on
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. content — happy

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