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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: roll · root · content · present · chest · object · field · cell

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. present — there
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. chest — of your body
  8. root — of a word
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. roll — a cake
  11. object — to protest
  12. cell — a phone
  13. present — a gift
  14. root — of a plant
  15. present — the time now
  16. content — happy
  17. roll — a list
  18. field — for sport
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. root — the cause
  21. object — a thing
  22. cell — in biology
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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