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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: wound · rush · mark · root · content · march · fork · press

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. press — newspapers
  5. wound — an injury
  6. root — the cause
  7. wound — an injury
  8. content — the amount
  9. rush — hurry
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. press — to push
  13. root — of a word
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. march — music
  16. mark — a trace
  17. press — a publisher
  18. mark — a grade
  19. fork — in a road
  20. root — of a plant
  21. march — the month
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. march — the month

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