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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. ground — a position
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. root — of a word
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — the time now
  7. deal — to handle
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. content — happy
  11. perch — the fish
  12. root — the cause
  13. rest — a break
  14. root — of a plant
  15. ground — the earth
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. present — there
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. ground — crushed
  21. content — the amount
  22. last — final
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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