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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. mate — a partner
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. lean — thin
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. lean — to bend
  10. root — the cause
  11. content — the amount
  12. perch — the fish
  13. root — of a word
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. prune — to trim
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. root — of a plant
  21. mate — a friend
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mate — to breed
  24. content — happy

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