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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — completely
  4. bank — for money
  5. root — of a plant
  6. row — a line
  7. bank — for money
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. content — the amount
  10. tear — from crying
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. tear — from crying
  13. root — the cause
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. root — of a word
  18. tear — to rip
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bank — of a river
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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