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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. press — a publisher
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pop — soda
  6. press — to push
  7. ground — crushed
  8. last — to go on
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. last — final
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. tear — to rip
  14. content — happy
  15. root — the cause
  16. last — finally
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. perch — the fish
  19. content — the amount
  20. pop — music
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — of a word
  23. pop — to visit
  24. press — newspapers

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