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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. date — the fruit
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. pit — in a race
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. content — happy
  8. bark — to shout
  9. root — of a word
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. content — the amount
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. root — the cause
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. hand — help
  21. root — of a plant
  22. pit — a hole
  23. bat — the animal
  24. squash — the sport

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