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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rock — music
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. spring — of water
  5. root — the cause
  6. bear — the animal
  7. root — of a plant
  8. ball — a great time
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. root — of a word
  12. bear — the animal
  13. clip — for paper
  14. chip — for betting
  15. clip — a video
  16. spring — the season
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. rock — a stone
  19. spring — a coil
  20. chip — to eat
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rock — to move gently

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