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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. net — in sport
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. hand — in cards
  5. file — a document
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — in football
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — for catching
  10. mine — for digging
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. root — the cause
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. root — of a plant
  16. file — a tool
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. toast — bread
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. file — a line of people

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