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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. game — a match
  3. bear — the animal
  4. root — of a word
  5. rest — what's left
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kid — to tease
  8. row — a line
  9. game — wild animals
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rest — what's left
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — the cause
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. kid — child
  21. toast — bread
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. toast — the most admired

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