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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: chip · bat · root · field · fan · band · content · spell

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. content — the amount
  3. root — the cause
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. band — a music group
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. root — of a plant
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. spell — letters
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. field — farmland
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. band — a ring
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — magic
  20. content — happy
  21. chip — for betting
  22. bat — the animal
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — in a computer

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