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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. root — of a word
  3. staff — employees
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. scale — in music
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — a stick
  8. wind — moving air
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. root — the cause
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. root — of a plant
  18. wind — moving air
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. scale — size or range
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — of a tree

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