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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. root — the cause
  6. saw — the tool
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. cap — of ice
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. net — after costs
  11. cap — a hat
  12. pop — soda
  13. cap — a lid
  14. root — of a word
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. pop — to visit
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. pop — music

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