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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. content — happy
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. root — of a word
  9. stem — to come from
  10. content — the amount
  11. root — of a plant
  12. chest — a box
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. scale — in music
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. stock — goods
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stock — shares
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. scale — size or range
  22. root — the cause
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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