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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. stand — to bear
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. kid — child
  7. perch — the fish
  8. content — happy
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. root — the cause
  13. fork — in a road
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. kid — to tease
  20. root — of a word
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. content — the amount
  24. perch — for a bird

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