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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cue — for pool
  6. court — of law
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cue — a hint
  9. tube — the underground
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. court — for sport
  12. tube — a container
  13. cell — in biology
  14. root — the cause
  15. court — of a king
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cell — a phone
  18. root — of a plant

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