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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. roll — a cake
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. prune — to trim
  10. scale — in music
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. roll — a list
  16. foot — a measure
  17. rash — hasty
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. clip — to cut
  22. scale — size or range
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. content — videos and posts

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