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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. season — of the year
  4. root — of a plant
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. season — in sport
  8. content — the amount
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. stock — goods
  11. bore — to tire
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. race — a contest
  15. bore — to drill
  16. fork — in a road
  17. clip — a video
  18. race — the arms race
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. root — the cause
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. stock — shares
  24. race — humankind

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