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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. pop — music
  4. deal — to handle
  5. tube — a container
  6. pop — soda
  7. track — a song
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. press — to push
  11. root — of a plant
  12. track — a path
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. root — the cause
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mine — for digging
  19. cold — not warm
  20. root — of a word
  21. press — a publisher
  22. pop — to visit
  23. tube — the underground
  24. press — newspapers

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