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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 120 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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. pit — a hole
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. root — the cause
  6. shower — rain
  7. root — of a plant
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. charge — electricity
  10. can — a tin
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. charge — a price
  13. charge — in control
  14. game — wild animals
  15. can — a tin
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. root — of a word
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. game — a match
  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