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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 124 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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. prune — to trim
  5. root — of a plant
  6. perch — the fish
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. root — the cause
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. band — a ring
  13. current — happening now
  14. content — happy
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. band — a music group
  19. current — of water
  20. current — electric
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. content — the amount
  24. root — of a word

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