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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mate — a partner
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. club — a group
  5. root — of a plant
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. shower — rain
  10. root — the cause
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. shower — to wash
  13. game — a match
  14. scale — size or range
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. cell — in biology
  18. mate — to breed
  19. root — of a word
  20. club — for dancing
  21. scale — in music
  22. club — for golf
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wave — of the sea

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