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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: ground · swing · file · content · chair · root · hide · band

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. file — a tool
  4. band — a music group
  5. root — of a plant
  6. swing — in golf
  7. root — the cause
  8. ground — a position
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. band — a ring
  14. file — a document
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. chair — a leader
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. swing — music
  20. ground — crushed
  21. file — a line of people
  22. root — of a word
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. swing — to play on

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