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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. staff — employees
  3. drill — army training
  4. staff — employees
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — happy
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. root — of a word
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fork — in a road
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. root — of a plant
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. staff — a stick
  19. date — the fruit
  20. fall — the season
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. fall — to drop
  23. root — the cause
  24. content — the amount

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