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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pit — in a race
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. root — of a word
  8. pit — a hole
  9. wake — a trail
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a plant
  13. spring — a coil
  14. board — a committee
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. board — to get on
  17. row — to paddle
  18. spring — of water

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