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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 120 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pop — soda
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pop — music
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. root — of a word
  18. pop — to visit
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. content — happy
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. content — the amount
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — the cause

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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