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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mug — a face
  4. mug — a cup
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. capital — a city
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. root — of a plant
  11. track — to keep track
  12. saw — the tool
  13. root — the cause
  14. track — a path
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. track — a song
  21. mug — to rob
  22. capital — money
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bowl — a football final

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