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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. swing — to play on
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. swing — in golf
  9. scale — in music
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. root — of a plant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. scale — size or range
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a word
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. swing — music

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