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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. march — the month
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. chest — of your body
  5. can — a tin
  6. game — a match
  7. root — of a word
  8. can — a tin
  9. content — the amount
  10. chest — of your body
  11. can — to be able to
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. root — of a plant
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. content — happy
  16. game — wild animals
  17. march — music
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. march — the month
  24. chest — a box

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