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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: scale · last · bat · cue · content · lash · row · root

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. last — finally
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. row — a line
  7. content — happy
  8. scale — in music
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. cue — a hint
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. root — the cause
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cue — a signal
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cue — for pool
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. root — of a plant
  23. content — the amount
  24. scale — for weighing

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