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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
468
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: ground · game · deal · sharp · perch · bank · mate · content

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. ground — crushed
  3. content — happy
  4. mate — a friend
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bank — for money
  7. deal — to handle
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. ground — a position
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bank — of a river
  16. mate — to breed
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bank — for money
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. game — a match
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. content — the amount
  24. game — wild animals

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