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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. pop — music
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. content — the amount
  6. perch — the fish
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pop — soda
  10. stem — to come from
  11. shower — rain
  12. pop — to visit
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. content — happy
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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