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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: cell · pit · mate · fall · content · bass · root · row

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bass — low music
  3. root — of a plant
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. mate — a friend
  6. fall — the season
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. content — the amount
  9. root — the cause
  10. pit — a hole
  11. content — happy
  12. mate — to breed
  13. row — a line
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fall — to drop
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bass — the fish
  22. root — of a word
  23. cell — in biology
  24. mate — a partner

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