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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — the cause
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. board — a committee
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. rush — hurry
  14. craft — boats
  15. board — to get on
  16. capital — a city
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. spring — a coil
  20. root — of a word
  21. wake — a trail
  22. craft — a skill
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. capital — money

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