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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: land · tube · wave · lie · content · snap · root · perch

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. tube — the underground
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. root — of a plant
  7. snap — to click
  8. content — happy
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. perch — the fish
  11. land — a country
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. lie — to recline
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. root — the cause
  21. tube — a container
  22. content — the amount
  23. root — of a word
  24. perch — for a bird

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