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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 120 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 common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. root — of a word
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. root — of a plant
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — in sport
  7. chest — a box
  8. pop — music
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — a short time
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pop — to visit
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. root — the cause
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. band — a music group
  17. pop — soda
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chest — of your body
  20. net — for catching
  21. spell — letters
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. foot — a measure
  24. band — a ring

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