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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. root — of a word
  4. drill — a practice
  5. wind — moving air
  6. face — part of the head
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. file — a tool
  9. game — a match
  10. file — a document
  11. face — to point toward
  12. court — of a king
  13. game — wild animals
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wind — moving air
  16. court — for sport
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. court — of law
  19. drill — the tool
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. drill — army training
  22. face — to confront
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — the cause

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