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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. clip — for paper
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. root — the cause
  5. date — the fruit
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. content — the amount
  9. clip — a video
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — of the year
  12. spell — magic
  13. perch — the fish
  14. root — of a plant
  15. content — happy
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. root — of a word
  20. spell — a short time
  21. clip — to cut
  22. spell — letters
  23. foot — a measure
  24. season — in sport

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