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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: content · pit · perch · wound · spring · scale · trunk · stick

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. content — happy
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. scale — in music
  5. perch — the fish
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. spring — the season
  10. scale — size or range
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. wound — an injury
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pit — in a race
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. spring — of water
  24. content — the amount

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