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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. ground — crushed
  3. present — the time now
  4. mine — for digging
  5. content — happy
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. ground — the earth
  11. content — the amount
  12. present — a gift
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. present — there
  15. root — of a word
  16. race — humankind
  17. ground — a position
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a plant
  21. race — a contest
  22. plane — a tool
  23. race — the arms race
  24. plane — an aircraft

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