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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: lean · content · perch · bat · squash · leaves · drill · game

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — thin
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — the amount
  5. squash — the sport
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. content — happy
  12. drill — a practice
  13. game — a match
  14. drill — army training
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. drill — the tool
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. perch — the fish
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. squash — to crush

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