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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. drill — army training
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. root — of a word
  5. mug — to rob
  6. spring — a coil
  7. drill — the tool
  8. root — the cause
  9. drill — a practice
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. fall — the season
  12. row — a line
  13. tube — the underground
  14. fall — to drop
  15. tube — a container
  16. spring — of water
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. spring — the season
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. root — of a plant
  23. fall — to drop
  24. mug — a cup

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