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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. content — the amount
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. game — a match
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. root — of a plant
  10. court — of law
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. row — a line
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bear — the animal
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. root — the cause
  18. court — of a king
  19. bear — the animal
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. row — to paddle
  22. root — of a word
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. content — happy

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