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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tube — a container
  5. mine — for digging
  6. root — the cause
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. shower — rain
  10. root — of a word
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. tear — to rip
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bat — the animal
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. shower — to wash
  18. tube — the underground

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