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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. ground — a position
  3. pop — music
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. season — of the year
  6. pop — soda
  7. bat — the animal
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. season — in sport
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. ground — the earth
  12. root — the cause
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ground — crushed
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pop — to visit
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — of a plant
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. capital — a big letter

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