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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. club — for golf
  2. mate — a friend
  3. lean — to bend
  4. fine — high quality
  5. club — for dancing
  6. content — the amount
  7. root — of a plant
  8. mate — a partner
  9. content — happy
  10. mate — to breed
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. root — of a word
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. lean — thin
  16. prune — to trim
  17. clip — for paper
  18. club — a group
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. fine — all right
  23. prune — to trim
  24. root — the cause

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