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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. scale — size or range
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. field — a subject
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. spring — of water
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a word
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. field — farmland
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bear — the animal
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bear — the animal
  17. root — of a plant
  18. snap — to click
  19. date — the fruit
  20. spring — a coil
  21. scale — in music
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. field — for sport
  24. spring — the season

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