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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. charge — electricity
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. root — of a word
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. fine — all right
  7. root — the cause
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. mark — a grade
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. content — the amount
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. mark — a trace
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. drill — the tool
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. content — happy
  20. fine — high quality
  21. perch — the fish
  22. root — of a plant
  23. charge — in control
  24. charge — a price

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