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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 116 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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. swing — in golf
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. land — to come down
  6. swing — music
  7. bound — obliged
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. land — a country
  11. row — a line
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. swing — to play on
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. land — ground
  18. bat — the animal
  19. row — to paddle
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — of a word
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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