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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. field — a subject
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. field — for sport
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. root — the cause
  11. capital — a city
  12. root — of a plant
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. capital — money
  16. dip — to sink
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. field — farmland
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. root — of a word
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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