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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: march · last · root · pit · content · stem · land · mark

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mark — a grade
  3. root — of a plant
  4. root — the cause
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. land — a country
  11. march — the month
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. pit — in a race
  15. stem — to come from
  16. mark — a trace
  17. root — of a word
  18. march — the month
  19. content — happy
  20. land — to come down
  21. march — music
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. land — ground
  24. pit — a hole

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