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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: saw · branch · content · field · rest · root · chair · jam

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. saw — the tool
  4. root — of a word
  5. field — a subject
  6. saw — the tool
  7. rest — what's left
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. root — of a plant
  10. content — happy
  11. branch — a division
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. root — the cause
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. rest — a break
  19. field — farmland
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. rest — what's left
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. field — for sport

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