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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: club · bat · rock · spell · chair · root · shower · content

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. spell — magic
  3. chair — a leader
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for dancing
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. content — happy
  8. root — of a plant
  9. rock — a stone
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a word
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. spell — letters
  16. content — the amount
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. shower — to wash
  19. club — for golf
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. spell — a short time
  23. rock — music
  24. bat — in an idiom

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