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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. content — happy
  3. root — the cause
  4. rule — a law
  5. land — ground
  6. land — to come down
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. fine — all right
  9. land — a country
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. rule — government
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pitch — completely
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. content — the amount
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. pitch — a sales talk

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