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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. mug — a face
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. game — a match
  6. bat — the animal
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a plant
  9. wake — a trail
  10. last — final
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mug — to rob
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. last — to go on
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. root — of a word
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. net — in sport
  20. mug — a cup
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bat — in an idiom

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