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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. root — of a word
  3. cell — a phone
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. root — of a plant
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. row — to paddle
  11. sharp — clever
  12. court — of a king
  13. season — in sport
  14. row — a line
  15. pound — a weight
  16. season — of the year
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. root — the cause
  20. rule — a law
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. season — to add flavour

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