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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. ground — crushed
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. ground — a position
  6. shower — to wash
  7. ground — the earth
  8. root — of a word
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — a container
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. root — of a plant
  16. rash — hasty
  17. tube — the underground
  18. rash — a series
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pass — a permit
  21. root — the cause
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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