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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — clever
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. club — for golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. kid — to tease
  8. root — of a plant
  9. club — for dancing
  10. swing — in golf
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. club — a group
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. kid — child
  18. shower — rain
  19. root — the cause
  20. swing — music
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pitch — completely
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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