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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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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: perch · stem · squash · cell · court · bore · scale · content

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. cell — a phone
  3. squash — to crush
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. court — for sport
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. content — happy
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. content — the amount
  11. cell — in biology
  12. scale — in music
  13. bore — to tire
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. scale — size or range
  17. squash — the sport
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. stem — to come from
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bore — to drill
  24. squash — the vegetable

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