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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 120 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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. content — happy
  3. band — a music group
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. mine — for digging
  7. last — to go on
  8. band — a ring
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. saw — the tool
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. root — of a word
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. last — finally
  17. root — of a plant
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. field — farmland
  20. last — final
  21. saw — the tool
  22. field — for sport
  23. content — the amount
  24. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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