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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. cell — a phone
  3. squash — the sport
  4. root — the cause
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bound — certain
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bound — obliged
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. bat — the animal
  21. net — for catching
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — of a plant
  24. cell — in biology

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