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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 116 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cue — a hint
  3. root — of a word
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. field — for sport
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. field — a subject
  12. game — a match
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. root — of a plant
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cue — a signal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. root — the cause
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. cue — for pool
  22. scale — size or range
  23. field — farmland
  24. rush — a thrill

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