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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. charge — a price
  6. toast — bread
  7. spring — a coil
  8. row — a line
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — electricity
  16. content — the amount
  17. stock — shares
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. root — the cause
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. root — of a word
  23. row — to paddle
  24. stock — goods

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