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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. content — happy
  6. foot — a measure
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. root — of a word
  10. court — of law
  11. root — of a plant
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. pass — a permit
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. court — for sport
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. root — the cause
  21. court — of a king
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. hand — in cards

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