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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 120 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. root — of a word
  4. race — a contest
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. game — a match
  11. chest — of your body
  12. content — happy
  13. root — the cause
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. root — of a plant
  16. game — wild animals
  17. pit — a hole
  18. branch — a division
  19. chest — a box
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. chest — of your body
  24. season — of the year

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