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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. root — of a word
  4. content — the amount
  5. net — in sport
  6. court — for sport
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. spring — a coil
  9. court — of a king
  10. net — for catching
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. content — happy
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. fork — in a road
  15. court — of law
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — to push
  18. spring — of water
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. press — a publisher
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — the cause
  23. net — after costs
  24. spring — the season

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