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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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Word bank
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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. root — of a plant
  3. file — a tool
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. file — a document
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chip — for betting
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. root — of a word
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. toast — bread
  20. file — a line of people
  21. degree — temperature
  22. root — the cause
  23. chip — to eat
  24. content — the amount

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