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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  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. ruler — a monarch
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. track — a path
  4. spring — a coil
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. root — of a plant
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. root — of a word
  13. spring — the season
  14. track — to keep track
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. track — a song
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. spring — of water
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. sharp — clever
  22. dip — to sink
  23. kick — in football
  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