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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. kid — to tease
  3. root — of a plant
  4. kid — child
  5. row — a line
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to tire
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bore — to drill
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. root — of a word
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. content — the amount
  14. present — a gift
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. present — the time now
  21. row — to paddle
  22. present — there
  23. root — the cause
  24. content — happy

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