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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. net — after costs
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. mark — a grade
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. root — the cause
  10. rush — hurry
  11. net — for catching
  12. hand — help
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a match
  15. root — of a plant
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. capital — a city
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. plane — a tool
  22. net — in sport
  23. mark — a trace
  24. capital — money

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