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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.

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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bat — the animal
  3. root — of a plant
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — soda
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. sharp — clever
  12. pop — to visit
  13. root — the cause
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. scale — size or range
  17. club — for golf
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. club — a group
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. bark — to shout
  23. club — for dancing
  24. scale — in music

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