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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. content — the amount
  3. root — of a word
  4. rock — a stone
  5. clip — to cut
  6. season — in sport
  7. degree — an amount
  8. clip — for paper
  9. season — of the year
  10. mate — a partner
  11. rock — music
  12. clip — a video
  13. lean — to bend
  14. content — happy
  15. root — of a plant
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. degree — from a university
  18. lean — thin
  19. degree — temperature
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. mate — a friend
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. mate — to breed

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