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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. last — final
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. content — happy
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. toast — bread
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a plant
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. root — of a word
  17. content — the amount
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. ruler — for measuring

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