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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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Word bank
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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. file — a line of people
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. club — a group
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. root — the cause
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bear — the animal
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. content — the amount
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. file — a tool
  17. content — happy
  18. file — a document
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. club — for golf
  22. root — of a word
  23. kick — in football
  24. root — of a plant

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