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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: pop · fine · perch · content · dip · cell · last · staff

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. last — to go on
  3. staff — employees
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — high quality
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. pop — music
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. staff — a stick
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pop — to visit
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. last — final
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. content — happy
  17. perch — the fish
  18. staff — employees
  19. dip — to sink
  20. cell — a phone
  21. pop — soda
  22. last — finally
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. content — videos and posts

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