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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.

Make a worksheet

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: can · perch · clip · squash · present · content · club · scale

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. present — a gift
  3. content — happy
  4. clip — for paper
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. perch — the fish
  7. can — a tin
  8. club — for golf
  9. squash — the sport
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. scale — size or range
  13. club — a group
  14. present — the time now
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. present — there
  17. scale — in music
  18. clip — to cut
  19. can — a tin
  20. clip — a video
  21. can — to be able to
  22. squash — to crush
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. club — for dancing

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