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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. cell — a phone
  5. present — the time now
  6. present — there
  7. pop — soda
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. root — of a plant
  10. cell — in biology
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. root — the cause
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. scale — in music
  17. game — a match
  18. pop — music
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. root — of a word
  22. pop — to visit
  23. game — wild animals
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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