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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 120 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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. net — in sport
  3. dip — to sink
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. net — after costs
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mine — for digging
  8. root — the cause
  9. pop — to visit
  10. saw — the tool
  11. root — of a word
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rock — a stone
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pop — music
  16. net — for catching
  17. rock — music
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pop — soda

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