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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. staff — a stick
  4. cue — for pool
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. row — a line
  7. root — the cause
  8. bore — to tire
  9. root — of a word
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — a coil
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. cue — a signal
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. root — of a plant
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. staff — employees
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. cue — a hint
  21. staff — employees
  22. row — to paddle
  23. spring — of water
  24. bore — to drill

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