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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cell — a phone
  6. shower — rain
  7. drill — army training
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. drill — a practice
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cell — in biology
  13. root — of a word
  14. content — happy
  15. pitch — completely
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. root — the cause
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. drill — the tool
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. root — of a plant
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

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