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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. rock — a stone
  3. cold — not warm
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. press — newspapers
  6. content — the amount
  7. root — of a word
  8. rock — music
  9. ground — the earth
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. root — the cause
  12. content — happy
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. ground — crushed
  15. press — to push
  16. press — a publisher
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. root — of a plant
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. stem — to come from
  24. content — videos and posts

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