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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. rule — a law
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. pit — a hole
  7. kid — to tease
  8. game — a match
  9. press — to push
  10. rule — government
  11. bat — the animal
  12. press — a publisher
  13. track — a path
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — in a race
  16. root — the cause
  17. track — a song
  18. press — newspapers
  19. root — of a plant
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. kid — child
  22. track — to keep track
  23. game — wild animals
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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