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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. root — of a word
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. roll — a cake
  5. pop — music
  6. swing — music
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pop — soda
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bat — the animal
  13. root — the cause
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. root — of a plant
  19. content — happy
  20. content — the amount
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. cell — in biology
  24. leaves — lets stay

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