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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 120 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. lean — to bend
  8. fine — high quality
  9. root — of a plant
  10. spell — magic
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — the cause
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spell — a short time
  15. fine — all right
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fork — in a road
  19. spell — letters
  20. lean — thin
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. content — the amount
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. kid — child

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