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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. content — happy
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. hand — help
  10. stem — to come from
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. snap — to click
  13. content — the amount
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. shower — to wash
  16. hand — in cards
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. shower — rain

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