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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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cell — in biology
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — size or range
  8. spell — a short time
  9. capital — money
  10. cell — a phone
  11. spell — magic
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. row — a line
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. shower — to wash
  18. root — the cause
  19. spell — letters
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. root — of a word

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