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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 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. root — the cause
  6. content — happy
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. swing — music
  9. tube — a container
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. object — to protest
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. swing — in golf
  15. object — a thing
  16. tube — the underground
  17. swing — to play on
  18. root — of a plant
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cold — an illness
  21. content — the amount
  22. object — an aim
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. cold — not warm

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