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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. chip — to eat
  4. content — happy
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. stem — to come from
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — for betting
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. content — the amount
  15. hand — help
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — soda
  19. pop — music
  20. rock — a stone
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. fork — in a road
  24. hand — in cards

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