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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: race · content · row · mouse · perch · ground · sharp · land

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. race — a contest
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. land — to come down
  5. content — the amount
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. race — the arms race
  8. ground — the earth
  9. land — a country
  10. ground — a position
  11. content — happy
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. race — humankind
  16. sharp — clever
  17. ground — crushed
  18. land — ground
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. perch — for a bird

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