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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. root — of a plant
  3. root — of a word
  4. pop — music
  5. press — a publisher
  6. file — a document
  7. toast — bread
  8. perch — the fish
  9. press — to push
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. pop — to visit
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pop — soda
  15. court — for sport
  16. root — the cause
  17. foot — a measure
  18. file — a line of people
  19. court — of a king
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. press — newspapers
  23. file — a tool
  24. court — of law

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