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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 116 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. root — the cause
  5. mate — to breed
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. ground — the earth
  8. root — of a plant
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. branch — a division
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bat — the animal
  20. game — a match
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mate — a partner
  23. shower — to wash
  24. ruler — for measuring

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