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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. root — the cause
  4. perch — the fish
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. court — of a king
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. hand — in cards
  10. staff — employees
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — for betting
  13. root — of a plant
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pitch — completely
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. hand — help
  21. court — for sport
  22. chip — to eat
  23. court — of law
  24. pitch — a sports field

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