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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. root — of a word
  3. drill — army training
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. drill — a practice
  6. pop — to visit
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. swing — in golf
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. swing — music
  12. capital — money
  13. root — the cause
  14. pop — music
  15. hand — in cards
  16. stand — to bear
  17. root — of a plant
  18. capital — a city
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. swing — to play on
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. drill — the tool
  24. pop — soda

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