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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. root — of a word
  4. bass — low music
  5. land — a country
  6. hand — in cards
  7. content — happy
  8. land — ground
  9. root — of a plant
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mug — to rob
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. land — to come down
  17. content — the amount
  18. rest — a break
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mug — a face
  23. root — the cause
  24. rest — what's left

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