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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: spring · dip · cold · temple · content · root · racket · deal

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. deal — to handle
  3. root — of a plant
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. cold — an illness
  9. dip — to sink
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cold — not warm
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. content — the amount
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. root — of a word
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. spring — a coil
  20. root — the cause
  21. content — happy
  22. spring — of water
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. dip — to dunk

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