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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. staff — employees
  3. content — happy
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. scale — size or range
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. roll — a list
  8. root — of a plant
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — hurry
  11. can — to be able to
  12. staff — employees
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. scale — in music
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. staff — a stick
  17. can — a tin
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. root — the cause
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. roll — a cake
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. root — of a word

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