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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. content — happy
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. root — of a plant
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. content — the amount
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wind — moving air
  19. roll — a cake
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. roll — a list

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