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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. root — of a plant
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. shower — rain
  7. pitch — completely
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. content — the amount
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. mine — for digging
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. content — happy
  18. hand — help
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. foot — a measure
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a word
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. jam — a tight spot

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