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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. root — of a word
  3. pop — to visit
  4. dip — to sink
  5. content — the amount
  6. pop — soda
  7. cell — a phone
  8. spell — a short time
  9. cell — in biology
  10. stock — goods
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. spell — letters
  13. root — the cause
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. spell — magic
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. pop — music
  19. stock — shares
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. root — of a plant
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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