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

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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. ball — a dance
  4. root — of a word
  5. band — a ring
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. field — for sport
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. kick — in football
  12. date — the fruit
  13. band — a music group
  14. content — the amount
  15. root — the cause
  16. field — a subject
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. field — farmland
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. root — of a plant

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