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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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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: fall · perch · ground · march · wind · bulb · bore · content

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. wind — moving air
  4. perch — the fish
  5. march — the month
  6. content — happy
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. march — the month
  11. bulb — for light
  12. fall — the season
  13. march — music
  14. bore — to tire
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bore — to drill
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — a position
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ground — crushed

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