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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. root — of a plant
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. tear — from crying
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. tear — from crying
  15. root — the cause
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. root — of a word
  19. date — the fruit
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. kick — in football
  22. tear — to rip
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. mine — for digging

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