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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. fine — all right
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a plant
  5. wound — an injury
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. content — happy
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. root — of a word
  12. wound — an injury
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. hand — help
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. content — the amount
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fine — high quality
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. calf — a young animal

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