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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: court · content · bear · perch · sharp · tube · hand · stem

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. perch — the fish
  3. sharp — clever
  4. tube — a container
  5. content — happy
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. bear — the animal
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. hand — help
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. content — the amount
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. court — of law
  14. hand — in cards
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — for sport
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. tube — the underground
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. tube — in a tire

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