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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 a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. net — in sport
  3. game — a match
  4. season — in sport
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. deal — to handle
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — the cause
  11. content — happy
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. season — of the year
  14. content — the amount
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. cell — in biology
  18. fine — all right
  19. net — after costs
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. net — for catching
  22. game — wild animals
  23. fine — high quality
  24. cell — a phone

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