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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: cabinet · squash · perch · saw · rock · last · tear · content

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. saw — the tool
  3. squash — the sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rock — music
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. last — to go on
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. tear — to rip
  15. squash — to crush
  16. saw — the tool
  17. last — finally
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. perch — the fish
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rock — a stone

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