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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pound — a weight
  4. squash — to crush
  5. root — the cause
  6. ball — a dance
  7. spell — letters
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. net — for catching
  14. wound — an injury
  15. squash — the sport
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — magic
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. net — after costs
  22. root — of a plant
  23. net — in sport
  24. ball — a great time

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