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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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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: bass · swing · band · root · fork · content · present · stock

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. content — the amount
  7. root — of a word
  8. present — the time now
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. present — there
  12. stock — goods
  13. fork — in a road
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a plant
  17. stock — shares
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bass — low music
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. bass — the fish

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