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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 120 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: content · root · mine · foot · land · board · pitch · rush

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. root — of a plant
  8. content — the amount
  9. mine — for digging
  10. rush — hurry
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. land — to come down
  14. root — of a word
  15. land — ground
  16. content — happy
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. pitch — completely
  20. board — a committee
  21. land — a country
  22. board — to get on
  23. foot — a measure
  24. root — the cause

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