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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 120 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: wake · bat · perch · key · prune · content · chest · spell

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. spell — letters
  3. key — for a lock
  4. chest — a box
  5. spell — magic
  6. wake — a trail
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. prune — to trim
  11. content — happy
  12. key — the most important part
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. content — the amount
  17. bat — the animal
  18. key — in music
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chest — of your body

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