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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. ground — the earth
  3. cell — a phone
  4. present — there
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. present — the time now
  8. ground — crushed
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bear — the animal
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. present — a gift
  14. root — of a word
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. ground — a position
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a ring
  20. root — the cause
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. cold — an illness

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