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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 120 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. chest — of your body
  3. root — of a word
  4. land — to come down
  5. can — a tin
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. root — the cause
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. chest — a box
  17. pit — in a race
  18. content — happy
  19. pit — a hole
  20. capital — money
  21. saw — the tool
  22. root — of a plant
  23. chest — of your body
  24. content — the amount

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