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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mate — to breed
  4. sharp — clever
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. content — the amount
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — in sport
  10. file — a tool
  11. mate — a partner
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. mate — a friend
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. chest — a box
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. content — happy
  19. file — a line of people
  20. root — the cause
  21. file — a document
  22. root — of a word
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. chest — of your body

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