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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. root — of a word
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. court — of a king
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — to handle
  10. content — the amount
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. toast — bread
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. court — for sport
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. court — of law
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. root — the cause

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