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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: fan · kick · root · content · spring · sharp · rock · land

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. spring — of water
  3. sharp — clever
  4. content — happy
  5. root — of a word
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. rock — a stone
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. land — a country
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. spring — the season
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. land — to come down
  16. rock — music
  17. root — the cause
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. spring — a coil
  22. root — of a plant
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. land — ground

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