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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. bear — the animal
  3. fall — to drop
  4. root — of a word
  5. ball — a great time
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. fall — to drop
  8. root — the cause
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. season — of the year
  12. fall — the season
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. season — in sport
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. fork — in a road
  22. ball — a dance
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. root — of a plant

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