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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. foot — a measure
  3. row — a line
  4. root — the cause
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — to recline
  9. pitch — completely
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. root — of a plant
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. file — a tool
  18. root — of a word
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. game — wild animals
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. game — a match
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bat — for baseball

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