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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. root — of a word
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. degree — from a university
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — the amount
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — in sport
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — the cause
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mug — a face
  19. mug — a cup
  20. season — of the year
  21. degree — an amount
  22. mug — to rob
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. degree — temperature

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