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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. root — the cause
  3. root — of a word
  4. present — there
  5. hand — help
  6. drill — the tool
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. spring — a coil
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. present — a gift
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. spring — the season
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. wound — an injury
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. root — of a plant
  20. drill — army training
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. wound — an injury
  23. drill — a practice
  24. spring — of water

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