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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. land — ground
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. dip — to sink
  6. hand — in cards
  7. current — electric
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a plant
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. current — of water
  14. current — happening now
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. root — of a word
  17. season — in sport
  18. hand — help
  19. land — to come down
  20. season — of the year
  21. file — a line of people
  22. land — a country
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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