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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. club — a group
  3. game — a match
  4. club — for golf
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cold — not warm
  7. root — of a plant
  8. row — a line
  9. chip — for betting
  10. game — wild animals
  11. club — for dancing
  12. row — to paddle
  13. root — of a word
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. cold — an illness

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