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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. root — of a word
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fall — to drop
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — to be able to
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. root — of a plant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. root — the cause
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. content — the amount
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. can — a tin
  22. shower — rain
  23. fall — the season
  24. lie — to recline

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