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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 120 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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. content — happy
  5. staff — employees
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — of a word
  8. capital — money
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. rash — a series
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. staff — a stick
  15. root — the cause
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. content — the amount
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. capital — a city
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. staff — employees

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