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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. root — of a word
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. track — a song
  5. land — to come down
  6. ball — a dance
  7. land — ground
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. root — of a plant
  10. drill — a practice
  11. shower — to wash
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. kid — child
  15. dip — to sink
  16. root — the cause
  17. shower — rain
  18. drill — the tool
  19. track — a path
  20. ball — a great time
  21. track — to keep track
  22. kid — to tease
  23. land — a country
  24. dip — to dunk

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