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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 116 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. row — to paddle
  6. root — of a word
  7. clip — a video
  8. row — a line
  9. court — of a king
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. root — of a plant
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. root — the cause
  17. clip — for paper
  18. court — for sport
  19. bore — to drill
  20. court — of law
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — soda
  24. bore — to tire

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