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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. tear — from crying
  3. staff — employees
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. craft — boats
  6. net — after costs
  7. staff — employees
  8. rush — hurry
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. root — of a word
  11. row — to paddle
  12. content — the amount
  13. net — in sport
  14. root — the cause
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. row — a line
  17. root — of a plant
  18. content — happy
  19. craft — a skill
  20. tear — to rip
  21. staff — a stick
  22. tear — from crying
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. net — for catching

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