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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. root — of a word
  4. pop — music
  5. swing — music
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. fork — in a road
  8. ball — a dance
  9. pop — soda
  10. last — to go on
  11. object — to protest
  12. pop — to visit
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. swing — in golf
  15. object — an aim
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — the cause
  18. bat — the animal
  19. object — a thing
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. last — finally
  22. last — final
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bat — for baseball

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