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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pop — soda
  4. content — happy
  5. root — of a word
  6. bulb — for light
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. land — ground
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — music
  12. squash — the sport
  13. land — to come down
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — the amount
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. root — of a plant
  22. land — a country
  23. squash — to crush
  24. root — the cause

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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