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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. root — of a plant
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — soda
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. lean — thin
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. root — of a word
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. lean — to bend
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. rash — hasty
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. rash — a series
  21. pop — music
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. sharp — clever
  24. root — the cause

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