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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — the cause
  4. bound — tied together
  5. wake — a trail
  6. race — humankind
  7. content — happy
  8. spring — the season
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bound — obliged
  11. content — the amount
  12. net — for catching
  13. cap — of ice
  14. root — of a plant
  15. spring — of water
  16. bound — certain
  17. race — the arms race
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — in sport
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. spring — a coil
  24. race — a contest

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