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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a trace
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. root — of a word
  6. snap — to click
  7. mark — a grade
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. fall — to drop
  11. root — of a plant
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. dip — to sink
  17. present — the time now
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. fall — the season
  21. present — there
  22. bat — the animal
  23. root — the cause
  24. saw — the tool

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