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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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. root — of a plant
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. pop — to visit
  7. rash — hasty
  8. object — a thing
  9. band — a ring
  10. chest — of your body
  11. object — an aim
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pop — soda
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. pop — music
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. band — a music group
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. root — the cause
  21. object — to protest
  22. deal — to handle
  23. rash — a series
  24. chest — a box

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