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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. content — happy
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. bear — the animal
  5. root — of a plant
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. spring — of water
  8. root — the cause
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. scale — size or range
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. spring — the season
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bear — the animal
  16. root — of a word
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. spring — a coil
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. rush — hurry
  22. content — the amount
  23. scale — in music
  24. bear — to put up with

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