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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. root — of a word
  3. cell — in biology
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bear — the animal
  11. content — the amount
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. lie — to recline
  17. root — the cause
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. cell — a phone
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. land — to come down

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