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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. root — of a word
  3. rock — music
  4. mate — a friend
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a partner
  8. scale — in music
  9. rock — a stone
  10. scale — size or range
  11. spring — of water
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wind — moving air
  18. root — the cause
  19. root — of a plant
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. spring — the season
  24. wound — an injury

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