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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. root — the cause
  3. rest — a break
  4. season — of the year
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — of a word
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bound — certain
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. hand — help
  16. rock — a stone
  17. season — in sport
  18. bound — obliged
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bound — tied together

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