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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. root — of a plant
  4. swing — in golf
  5. content — the amount
  6. prune — to trim
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wake — a trail
  11. prune — to trim
  12. swing — to play on
  13. kid — to tease
  14. swing — music
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. root — of a word
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. root — the cause
  22. kid — child
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pitcher — a jug

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