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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. root — of a plant
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. scale — in music
  5. mate — a partner
  6. bark — to shout
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. mate — a friend
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. root — of a word
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. game — a match
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. root — the cause
  20. club — for golf
  21. scale — size or range
  22. club — a group
  23. game — wild animals
  24. scale — for weighing

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