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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. row — to paddle
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a plant
  10. spring — of water
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. current — electric
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. current — happening now
  15. track — a path
  16. track — to keep track
  17. capital — money
  18. current — of water
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. wound — an injury
  23. track — a song
  24. row — a line

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