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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. root — of a word
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. rest — a break
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. foot — a measure
  11. land — ground
  12. lean — to bend
  13. rest — what's left
  14. land — to come down
  15. content — happy
  16. row — a line
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. root — the cause
  19. row — to paddle
  20. rest — what's left
  21. season — in sport
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. land — a country
  24. root — of a plant

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