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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. root — the cause
  9. mark — a trace
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — certain
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bound — tied together
  18. mark — a grade

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