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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cue — for pool
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. kick — in football
  5. root — of a word
  6. cue — a hint
  7. wound — an injury
  8. march — the month
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. march — music
  12. cue — a signal
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. root — the cause
  16. march — the month
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill

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