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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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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: kid · lie · shower · content · band · scale · rash · root

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. root — of a word
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. root — of a plant
  6. kid — to tease
  7. shower — rain
  8. band — a ring
  9. rash — hasty
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. scale — size or range
  12. root — the cause
  13. shower — to wash
  14. kid — child
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. lie — to recline
  18. content — the amount
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. scale — in music
  22. band — a music group
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. lie — an untruth

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