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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: charge · wound · perch · last · race · row · content · saw

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. row — a line
  5. last — to go on
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. charge — electricity
  9. row — to paddle
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. race — the arms race
  14. last — final
  15. charge — a price
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. saw — the tool
  19. charge — in control
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. last — finally
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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