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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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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: pitch · chest · content · pound · root · leaves · last · trunk

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pound — a weight
  6. last — finally
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. last — final
  13. content — happy
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. root — of a word
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. root — of a plant
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. last — to go on
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. root — the cause
  24. pitch — completely

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