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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 116 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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rash — hasty
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. cold — not warm
  9. content — the amount
  10. chip — to eat
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. root — of a word
  13. perch — the fish
  14. chip — for betting
  15. fork — in a road
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. content — happy
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. root — of a plant
  21. cold — an illness
  22. root — the cause
  23. rash — a series
  24. fork — to eat 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