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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 120 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  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. hand — in cards
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. bear — the animal
  5. hand — help
  6. rock — music
  7. root — of a word
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. root — the cause
  10. rock — a stone
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — child
  13. bear — the animal
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. net — in sport
  17. bear — to put up with
  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