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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: saw · bass · trunk · root · dip · content · file · field

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. content — happy
  3. dip — to sink
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. field — farmland
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. root — of a plant
  8. bass — low music
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. content — the amount
  12. field — a subject
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. file — a document
  17. field — for sport
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a word
  21. bass — the fish
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bass — the instrument

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