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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: chest · bowl · wind · content · coach · squash · mate · root

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. mate — a partner
  10. root — of a plant
  11. content — the amount
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. content — happy
  16. squash — the sport
  17. chest — a box
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mate — a friend
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wind — moving air
  22. root — the cause
  23. squash — to crush
  24. root — of a word

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