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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. root — the cause
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — happy
  6. root — of a plant
  7. cell — a phone
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. field — for sport
  11. root — of a word
  12. tube — the underground
  13. kid — to tease
  14. present — a gift
  15. cell — in biology
  16. race — humankind
  17. field — a subject
  18. present — the time now
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kid — child
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. field — farmland
  24. present — there

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