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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. root — of a plant
  4. root — of a word
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — in a race
  9. root — the cause
  10. chest — a box
  11. perch — the fish
  12. chest — of your body
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wax — to grow
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rest — what's left
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. pit — a hole

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