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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bore — to tire
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. game — a match
  10. root — of a plant
  11. ground — crushed
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. ground — a position
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — the cause
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. cold — not warm
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. ground — the earth

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