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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  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. pitch — a sports field
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rash — a series
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. roll — a cake
  11. file — a document
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. file — a line of people
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — the cause
  18. roll — a list
  19. rash — hasty
  20. pitch — completely
  21. content — the amount
  22. file — a tool
  23. fall — the season
  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