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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 116 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. fork — in a road
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. content — the amount
  10. root — of a word
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. root — the cause
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. kid — child
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. content — happy
  19. pound — a weight
  20. scale — in music
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. scale — size or range
  24. root — of a plant

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