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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. content — happy
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. tear — to rip
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. pop — soda
  13. tear — from crying
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pop — music
  18. dip — to sink
  19. perch — the fish
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pitch — completely
  23. content — the amount
  24. patient — a sick person

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