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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. court — for sport
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. tube — the underground
  9. cell — a phone
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. root — the cause
  13. roll — a list
  14. root — of a word
  15. press — newspapers
  16. roll — a cake
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pound — a weight
  19. tube — a container
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bat — the animal
  22. cell — in biology
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — to push

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