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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. cell — in biology
  3. root — of a word
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pitch — completely
  9. capital — a city
  10. root — of a plant
  11. season — in sport
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. season — of the year
  14. plane — a tool
  15. content — happy
  16. squash — to crush
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. squash — the sport
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. root — the cause
  22. capital — money
  23. content — the amount
  24. season — to add flavour

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