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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. shower — to wash
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. foot — a measure
  6. court — of a king
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — of a word
  10. ground — crushed
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. mug — a cup
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. root — the cause
  15. mug — a face
  16. ground — a position
  17. court — for sport
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. court — of law
  21. shower — rain
  22. game — a match
  23. ground — the earth
  24. mug — to rob

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