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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. content — the amount
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mark — a grade
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — of a word
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. mark — a trace
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wind — moving air
  22. root — the cause
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mouse — the animal

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