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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a word
  5. sharp — clever
  6. kid — child
  7. pop — music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pound — a weight
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cue — a signal
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cue — for pool
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pop — soda
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. pop — to visit
  23. cue — a hint
  24. root — of a plant

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