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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. prune — to trim
  5. net — in sport
  6. rest — what's left
  7. row — to paddle
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rest — a break
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. net — after costs
  13. dip — to sink
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. fork — in a road
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. content — happy
  20. row — a line
  21. cell — a phone
  22. net — for catching
  23. rest — what's left
  24. prune — the fruit

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