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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: pop · bass · bear · foot · row · root · racket · content

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. root — the cause
  6. content — happy
  7. row — a line
  8. content — the amount
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. row — to paddle
  11. foot — a measure
  12. pop — music
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. pop — soda
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bass — the fish
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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