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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stock — shares
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. can — to be able to
  9. club — for dancing
  10. can — a tin
  11. stock — goods
  12. content — the amount
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. can — a tin
  17. club — for golf
  18. tear — from crying
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. content — happy
  21. root — of a plant
  22. club — a group
  23. root — of a word
  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