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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. snap — to click
  4. pitch — completely
  5. court — of a king
  6. net — in sport
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — the cause
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. court — of law
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. fork — in a road
  14. net — after costs
  15. chip — for betting
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. net — for catching
  18. court — for sport
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. chip — to eat
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. rock — a stone
  24. chip — in a computer

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