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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rest — what's left
  4. game — a match
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. rest — a break
  7. mine — for digging
  8. root — the cause
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spell — letters
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — of a plant
  17. net — for catching
  18. rest — what's left
  19. net — in sport
  20. spell — magic
  21. net — after costs
  22. spell — a short time
  23. tear — to rip
  24. game — wild animals

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