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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  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. current — electric
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. root — of a word
  4. present — a gift
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. root — the cause
  7. last — final
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. pop — music
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. current — of water
  16. spring — of water
  17. current — happening now
  18. pop — to visit
  19. present — there
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pop — soda
  23. present — the time now
  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