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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: cell · court · root · pit · chest · content · pop · file

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. file — a line of people
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. file — a document
  5. root — the cause
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. file — a tool
  10. pop — soda
  11. content — happy
  12. cell — in biology
  13. chest — a box
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pit — a hole
  16. cell — a phone
  17. court — of law
  18. root — of a plant
  19. chest — of your body
  20. pop — music
  21. content — the amount
  22. root — of a word
  23. chest — of your body
  24. court — of a king

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