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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. court — of law
  3. root — of a plant
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a ring
  6. lean — thin
  7. bore — to drill
  8. content — the amount
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. ground — a position
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. fine — all right
  14. root — the cause
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. fine — high quality
  17. bore — to tire
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. root — of a word
  20. ground — crushed
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. lean — to bend
  24. ground — the earth

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