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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. bark — to shout
  5. rule — government
  6. content — happy
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — to bend
  12. content — the amount
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. root — the cause
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. lean — thin
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. rule — a law
  21. root — of a plant
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. date — the fruit

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