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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. spring — a coil
  2. root — of a plant
  3. root — of a word
  4. land — to come down
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. degree — from a university
  7. club — for golf
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rest — what's left
  14. root — the cause
  15. club — for dancing
  16. rest — a break
  17. content — happy
  18. spring — of water
  19. club — a group
  20. spring — the season
  21. land — ground
  22. degree — an amount
  23. land — a country
  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