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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. band — a ring
  3. ball — a great time
  4. root — of a plant
  5. row — a line
  6. mug — a cup
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. root — of a word
  9. scale — size or range
  10. mug — a face
  11. root — the cause
  12. kid — child
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. scale — in music
  17. row — to paddle
  18. sharp — clever
  19. ball — a dance
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. band — a music group
  24. sharp — with an edge

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