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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · wind · root · pit · mouse · content

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. content — happy
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a hole
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. root — the cause
  7. tear — to rip
  8. content — the amount
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. wind — moving air
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. tear — from crying
  17. root — of a word
  18. tear — from crying

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