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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. root — of a plant
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. fall — to drop
  6. spring — the season
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rest — a break
  11. stand — to bear
  12. spell — a short time
  13. root — the cause
  14. ball — a dance
  15. degree — from a university
  16. ball — a great time
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. spring — of water
  21. degree — an amount
  22. root — of a word
  23. degree — temperature
  24. ball — a round shape

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