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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 116 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. swing — in golf
  3. current — happening now
  4. root — of a plant
  5. scale — size or range
  6. current — electric
  7. content — the amount
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. scale — in music
  12. squash — the sport
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. root — the cause
  15. kick — in football
  16. swing — to play on
  17. current — of water
  18. root — of a word
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. squash — to crush
  22. content — happy
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. swing — music

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