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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 · perch · face · leaves · spring · wound · plane · content

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. face — to point toward
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. face — to confront
  8. plane — a tool
  9. content — the amount
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. spring — a coil
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. ground — crushed
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. face — part of the head
  16. content — happy
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. perch — the fish
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. leaves — lets stay

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