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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. craft — boats
  3. last — to go on
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. row — a line
  8. rush — hurry
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a word
  11. craft — a skill
  12. last — final
  13. row — to paddle
  14. root — of a plant
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. ground — crushed
  17. prune — to trim
  18. last — finally
  19. ground — a position
  20. content — the amount
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ground — the earth
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. rush — to hurry

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