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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. spring — the season
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pop — to visit
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. drill — army training
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — the cause
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. tear — to rip
  14. spring — of water
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. drill — a practice
  17. spring — a coil
  18. drill — the tool
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. tear — from crying
  21. root — of a plant
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. pop — music

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