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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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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: spring · bay · fork · mate · stick · content · club · perch

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. club — for dancing
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. content — the amount
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mate — a friend
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. club — for golf
  12. spring — the season
  13. mate — to breed
  14. club — a group
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. fork — in a road
  18. content — happy
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. spring — of water
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. perch — the fish

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