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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. root — of a word
  3. bank — for money
  4. content — happy
  5. bank — of a river
  6. spring — the season
  7. club — for dancing
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. chest — of your body
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. club — for golf
  12. squash — to crush
  13. spring — of water
  14. bank — for money
  15. cell — in biology
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — the cause
  18. club — a group
  19. content — the amount
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. chest — a box
  22. cell — a phone
  23. spring — a coil
  24. chest — of your body

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