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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 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. drill — the tool
  5. rest — what's left
  6. root — the cause
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tube — the underground
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. drill — army training
  13. rest — a break
  14. sharp — clever
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. squash — to crush
  17. root — of a plant
  18. last — to go on
  19. rest — what's left
  20. tube — a container
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. drill — a practice

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