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

Word bank: fall · present · hand · spring · kick · content · swing · root

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. content — happy
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. present — the time now
  5. fall — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. fall — to drop
  11. swing — to play on
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fall — to drop
  15. content — the amount
  16. present — there
  17. root — of a word
  18. hand — in cards
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. swing — music
  21. kick — in football
  22. root — the cause
  23. swing — in golf
  24. present — a gift

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