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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: bank · row · cue · sharp · content · cold · root · scale

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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. root — of a word
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — for money
  5. cold — not warm
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bank — of a river
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. cue — for pool
  12. root — the cause
  13. cue — a signal
  14. row — to paddle
  15. content — the amount
  16. cue — a hint
  17. row — a line
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. scale — in music
  20. root — of a plant
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cold — an illness
  23. scale — for weighing
  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