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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 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. lean — thin
  3. date — the fruit
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. spell — letters
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cue — for pool
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. cue — a signal
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. cue — a hint
  15. roll — a list
  16. mine — for digging
  17. root — of a plant
  18. roll — a cake
  19. root — the cause
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. spell — magic

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