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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. root — of a word
  3. tube — a container
  4. firm — a company
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. firm — decided
  7. pit — in a race
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. game — a match
  10. band — a ring
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — the underground
  14. band — a music group
  15. pit — a hole
  16. spring — of water
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. spring — a coil
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — the cause
  23. spring — the season
  24. firm — steady

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