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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bear — the animal
  3. stem — to come from
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. stock — shares
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. staff — a stick
  8. root — the cause
  9. row — to paddle
  10. staff — employees
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stock — goods
  14. bear — the animal
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. row — a line
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. content — the amount
  20. root — of a plant
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. wax — to grow
  23. root — of a word
  24. staff — employees

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