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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. content — the amount
  3. ground — crushed
  4. spring — the season
  5. content — happy
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. spring — a coil
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. toast — bread
  13. root — the cause
  14. bat — the animal
  15. ground — a position
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. spring — of water
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. band — a music group
  20. ground — the earth
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. root — of a word
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. root — of a plant

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