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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. root — of a word
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. root — of a plant
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. squash — the sport
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. root — the cause
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. file — a tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. land — to come down
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. file — a document

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