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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. net — after costs
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — of a plant
  5. drill — a practice
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. mark — a grade
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. net — in sport
  14. mark — a trace
  15. drill — the tool
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — to breed
  18. root — the cause
  19. net — for catching
  20. game — a match
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. drill — army training
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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