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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fall — the season
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. firm — decided
  11. root — of a plant
  12. perch — the fish
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. firm — steady
  17. firm — a company
  18. root — the cause
  19. row — to paddle
  20. content — the amount
  21. root — of a word
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — to grow

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