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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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. spell — letters
  4. ground — the earth
  5. mark — a trace
  6. present — there
  7. present — the time now
  8. last — to go on
  9. court — for sport
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. ground — a position
  12. root — of a word
  13. spell — a short time
  14. present — a gift
  15. ground — crushed
  16. mark — a grade
  17. spell — magic
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. court — of law
  20. root — the cause
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. court — of a king
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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