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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. bowl — a dish
  2. root — of a word
  3. last — to go on
  4. mug — to rob
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. root — the cause
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. last — final
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. mug — a face
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. last — finally
  16. cold — an illness
  17. game — a match
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bore — to drill
  21. root — of a plant
  22. mug — a cup
  23. game — wild animals
  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