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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. present — the time now
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. club — for golf
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. root — of a plant
  8. present — there
  9. present — a gift
  10. land — a country
  11. content — the amount
  12. sharp — clever
  13. land — ground
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. club — for dancing
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. root — the cause
  18. kick — in football
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. root — of a word
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. land — to come down
  24. club — a group

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