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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — a stone
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. tear — from crying
  12. root — the cause
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. hand — help
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. root — of a plant
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. tear — to rip
  23. root — of a word
  24. sharp — clever

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