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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. can — a tin
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. game — a match
  5. swing — in golf
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. game — wild animals
  8. track — to keep track
  9. can — to be able to
  10. swing — music
  11. root — of a word
  12. track — a song
  13. can — a tin
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. capital — a city
  16. swing — to play on
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. capital — money
  21. root — the cause
  22. pitch — completely
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bowl — to roll

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