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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. last — final
  3. bass — low music
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. press — a publisher
  6. root — of a plant
  7. press — to push
  8. root — of a word
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. last — finally
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. band — a ring
  15. stem — to come from
  16. content — happy
  17. bass — the fish
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. press — newspapers
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. root — the cause
  23. last — to go on
  24. foot — a measure

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