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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. root — of a word
  5. content — the amount
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. root — of a plant
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. kid — to tease
  17. toast — bread
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. kid — child
  21. date — the fruit
  22. root — the cause
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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