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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 116 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. band — a ring
  3. root — of a word
  4. rest — what's left
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. court — for sport
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. row — to paddle
  9. kid — to tease
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. root — the cause
  12. kid — child
  13. band — a music group
  14. court — of law
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. row — a line
  19. rest — what's left
  20. court — of a king
  21. root — of a plant
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — clever
  24. rest — a break

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