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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a word
  5. saw — the tool
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — in a race
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. file — a tool
  13. root — of a plant
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. file — a line of people
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. file — a document
  19. bass — low music
  20. kid — child
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bass — the fish
  24. saw — the tool

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