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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: content · wind · ball · roll · pitch · band · spring · root

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. spring — of water
  3. band — a music group
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a great time
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — completely
  10. root — of a word
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — the season
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. content — the amount
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. roll — a cake
  20. root — of a plant
  21. spring — a coil
  22. root — the cause
  23. roll — a list
  24. content — happy

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