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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. pound — a weight
  3. root — of a plant
  4. land — a country
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pit — a hole
  7. degree — from a university
  8. land — to come down
  9. last — finally
  10. land — ground
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — a publisher
  13. degree — an amount
  14. press — to push
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — the cause
  17. degree — temperature
  18. last — final
  19. last — to go on
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pit — in a race
  23. content — happy
  24. pound — to hit hard

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