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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. court — of law
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. root — the cause
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. root — of a word
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — a trail
  10. content — happy
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. squash — to crush
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. court — of a king
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. root — of a plant
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. court — for sport
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — the vegetable

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