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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. ball — a dance
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — for golf
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. root — of a plant
  8. mark — a grade
  9. prune — to trim
  10. club — a group
  11. clip — a video
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. clip — for paper
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. root — the cause
  19. mark — a trace
  20. clip — to cut
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. ball — a great time

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