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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. spring — of water
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. craft — boats
  6. last — to go on
  7. craft — a skill
  8. root — of a word
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. content — the amount
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. content — happy
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. last — finally
  20. root — the cause
  21. wound — an injury
  22. last — final
  23. root — of a plant
  24. spring — the season

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