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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 116 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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. root — of a word
  3. court — of a king
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wound — an injury
  6. hand — help
  7. pop — music
  8. hand — in cards
  9. root — the cause
  10. pop — to visit
  11. content — happy
  12. key — in music
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. key — the most important part
  16. court — for sport
  17. rock — a stone
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. pop — soda
  21. key — for a lock
  22. rock — music
  23. root — of a plant
  24. court — of law

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