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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — a series
  3. file — a tool
  4. pound — a weight
  5. root — of a plant
  6. club — for golf
  7. root — the cause
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. root — of a word
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. rash — hasty
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bear — the animal
  15. file — a document
  16. spring — a coil
  17. file — a line of people
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. spring — of water
  21. club — a group
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. spring — the season

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