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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. rest — what's left
  3. dip — to sink
  4. net — after costs
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. court — of a king
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rest — what's left
  9. net — in sport
  10. cold — an illness
  11. root — of a plant
  12. court — for sport
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — the cause
  16. court — of law
  17. rest — a break
  18. dip — a sauce

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