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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. root — the cause
  4. mark — a trace
  5. root — of a word
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. mark — a grade
  12. club — a group
  13. root — of a plant
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mug — a face
  16. dip — to sink
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. cell — a phone
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mug — to rob
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. bear — the animal

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