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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. track — a song
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. sharp — clever
  9. land — to come down
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. track — a path
  12. root — the cause
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. root — of a plant
  20. hand — help
  21. land — a country
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. track — to keep track
  24. land — ground

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