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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. root — of a word
  3. bore — to tire
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. content — the amount
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. bore — to drill
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. game — a match
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bass — the fish
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bass — low music
  16. root — of a plant
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. season — of the year
  19. content — happy
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. season — in sport
  24. root — the cause

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