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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: drill · nail · chest · content · wake · spell · perch · field

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. content — the amount
  4. wake — a trail
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. field — a subject
  8. chest — a box
  9. perch — the fish
  10. field — farmland
  11. content — happy
  12. field — for sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. spell — a short time
  16. chest — of your body
  17. drill — the tool
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. drill — a practice
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — magic
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. drill — army training

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