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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cell — a phone
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — a country
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. root — the cause
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. root — of a plant
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wake — a trail
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. field — for sport
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. ball — a great time
  20. land — ground
  21. cell — in biology
  22. ball — a dance
  23. root — of a word
  24. ball — a round shape

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