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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mate — a partner
  3. dip — to sink
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. perch — the fish
  6. mate — to breed
  7. tube — the underground
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. content — happy
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. root — of a word
  15. mate — a friend
  16. root — the cause
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. tube — a container
  20. root — of a plant
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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