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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 116 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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. content — the amount
  5. club — for golf
  6. root — of a plant
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. staff — employees
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. content — happy
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. mark — a grade
  17. staff — employees
  18. mark — a trace
  19. root — of a word
  20. hand — in cards
  21. fork — in a road
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. staff — a stick
  24. root — the cause

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