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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. content — happy
  3. key — in music
  4. bear — the animal
  5. root — the cause
  6. prune — to trim
  7. content — the amount
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. hand — help
  11. bear — the animal
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. root — of a word
  14. net — in sport
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. shower — rain
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. prune — to trim
  20. net — after costs
  21. key — for a lock
  22. shower — to wash
  23. key — the most important part
  24. root — of a plant

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