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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. net — in sport
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a word
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. clip — to cut
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. land — to come down
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. root — of a plant
  14. clip — a video
  15. content — happy
  16. net — after costs
  17. fall — the season
  18. clip — for paper
  19. land — ground
  20. fall — to drop
  21. land — a country
  22. net — for catching
  23. fall — to drop
  24. leaves — of a tree

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