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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. sharp — clever
  4. fine — all right
  5. drill — the tool
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. root — of a plant
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. court — of law
  11. drill — a practice
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. court — for sport
  14. game — a match
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. root — of a word
  17. perch — the fish
  18. drill — army training
  19. court — of a king
  20. game — wild animals
  21. root — the cause
  22. tube — a container
  23. fine — high quality
  24. sharp — exactly

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