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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: chair · drill · shower · root · pass · present · content · lie

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. root — of a plant
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — there
  6. shower — rain
  7. lie — to recline
  8. root — the cause
  9. chair — a leader
  10. shower — to wash
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. drill — the tool
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. present — the time now
  18. drill — a practice
  19. content — the amount
  20. drill — army training
  21. pass — a permit
  22. root — of a word
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. pass — to succeed

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