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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. root — the cause
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wound — an injury
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. club — for golf
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. root — of a word
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. wound — an injury
  16. club — a group
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. club — for dancing
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. rush — to hurry

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