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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. root — of a plant
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a friend
  5. ground — crushed
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. club — for golf
  8. root — the cause
  9. mate — a partner
  10. shower — to wash
  11. branch — a division
  12. club — a group
  13. date — the fruit
  14. club — for dancing
  15. shower — rain
  16. root — of a word
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a dance
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. ground — a position
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. ground — the earth

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