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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. scale — in music
  4. root — of a word
  5. row — to paddle
  6. land — ground
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. content — the amount
  11. land — to come down
  12. scale — size or range
  13. content — happy
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. root — the cause
  18. land — a country
  19. root — of a plant
  20. row — a line
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wake — a trail

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