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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. last — finally
  3. root — of a plant
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a word
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — a line
  11. dip — to sink
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a path
  14. season — of the year
  15. last — final
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. last — to go on
  18. content — the amount
  19. track — a song
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. content — happy
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. row — to paddle

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