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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: root · racket · kid · season · drill · temple · content · field

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. root — of a plant
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. root — of a word
  5. drill — a practice
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. kid — to tease
  10. drill — the tool
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. root — the cause
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. drill — army training
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. kid — child
  24. field — farmland

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