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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — of a word
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. root — the cause
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pound — a weight
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. capital — money
  18. squash — to crush
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. file — a document
  22. squash — the sport
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. capital — a city

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