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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: perch · bat · kick · chest · content · prune · lean · cap

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. perch — the fish
  4. chest — a box
  5. prune — to trim
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kick — in football
  11. bat — the animal
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cap — a hat
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. cap — of ice
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chest — of your body
  19. content — the amount
  20. lean — thin
  21. cap — a lid
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. chest — of your body

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