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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 116 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. root — of a word
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. rest — a break
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. root — the cause
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wound — an injury
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. court — of a king
  14. rest — what's left
  15. root — of a plant
  16. snap — to click
  17. wound — an injury
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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