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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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 — the amount
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. tube — the underground
  4. root — of a word
  5. field — for sport
  6. bass — low music
  7. pitch — completely
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. field — a subject
  10. ground — a position
  11. bass — the fish
  12. content — happy
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. ground — the earth
  16. field — farmland
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. root — the cause
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. tube — a container
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. ground — crushed
  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