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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. root — the cause
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bear — the animal
  7. ground — the earth
  8. spring — the season
  9. shower — to wash
  10. game — a match
  11. root — of a word
  12. chest — a box
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bear — the animal
  15. spring — of water
  16. ground — a position
  17. root — of a plant
  18. mug — a cup
  19. ground — crushed
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mug — a face
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. shower — rain

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