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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bear — the animal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — of a word
  7. content — happy
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. root — the cause
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. capital — money
  12. rock — music
  13. perch — the fish
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. capital — a city
  16. content — the amount
  17. rock — a stone
  18. track — to keep track
  19. scale — in music
  20. track — a song
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bear — the animal

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