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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. craft — a skill
  3. roll — a list
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. rock — music
  6. root — of a plant
  7. roll — a cake
  8. shower — to wash
  9. land — ground
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. root — the cause
  14. cue — a signal
  15. craft — boats
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. root — of a word
  18. rock — a stone
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. shower — rain
  22. cue — a hint
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cue — for pool

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