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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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468
Word bank
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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — low music
  4. pit — in a race
  5. content — the amount
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. content — happy
  8. fork — in a road
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pit — a hole
  11. root — of a plant
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. root — the cause
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bass — the fish
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. file — a document
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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