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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: mate · arm · root · shower · dip · cell · content · rock

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. dip — to sink
  5. rock — music
  6. cell — a phone
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. content — the amount
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — a friend
  15. cell — in biology
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — of a plant
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. shower — rain
  21. mate — to breed
  22. rock — a stone
  23. root — the cause
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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