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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. kid — child
  3. ground — a position
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. tube — the underground
  6. ground — the earth
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. root — of a plant
  9. ground — crushed
  10. kid — to tease
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. sharp — clever
  13. root — the cause
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. root — of a word

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