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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. can — a tin
  4. firm — steady
  5. root — of a word
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. firm — a company
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. snap — to click
  11. firm — decided
  12. can — to be able to
  13. game — wild animals
  14. root — the cause
  15. cold — not warm
  16. game — a match
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. root — of a plant
  19. cold — an illness
  20. can — a tin
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. spring — a coil

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