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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. root — of a plant
  3. file — a line of people
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ball — a great time
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. ball — a dance
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitch — completely
  14. shower — to wash
  15. file — a document
  16. shower — rain
  17. mark — a trace
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. file — a tool
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. mark — a grade
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. root — the cause

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