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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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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. root — of a word
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. content — happy
  6. ball — a dance
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — the cause
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. snap — to click
  11. file — a line of people
  12. content — the amount
  13. track — a path
  14. track — a song
  15. file — a tool
  16. branch — a division
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. ball — a great time
  22. file — a document
  23. track — to keep track
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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