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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. content — happy
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. toast — bread
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. scale — in music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. branch — a division
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a plant
  13. scale — size or range
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. root — of a word
  16. last — final
  17. content — the amount
  18. last — to go on
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. shower — to wash
  23. last — finally
  24. shower — rain

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