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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: season · perch · game · drill · craft · racket · content · snap

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. game — a match
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. perch — the fish
  13. drill — the tool
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. season — in sport
  16. craft — boats
  17. drill — a practice
  18. season — of the year
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. game — wild animals
  22. craft — a skill
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. drill — army training

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