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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. land — to come down
  3. fine — high quality
  4. root — of a word
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. chest — of your body
  8. root — of a plant
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. fine — all right
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. ball — a great time
  13. chest — of your body
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. spring — the season
  16. land — a country
  17. root — the cause
  18. land — ground
  19. chest — a box
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — a coil
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. ball — a dance
  24. pass — to succeed

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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