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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: root · swing · trunk · pop · chair · land · content · tear

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. land — a country
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. tear — from crying
  5. swing — in golf
  6. root — of a word
  7. pop — music
  8. root — the cause
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pop — to visit
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. content — the amount
  13. land — to come down
  14. pop — soda
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. swing — music
  18. root — of a plant
  19. content — happy
  20. swing — to play on
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. land — ground
  24. chair — a leader

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