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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. board — a committee
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — the cause
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to tire
  10. spring — the season
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. spring — of water
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cell — a phone
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bat — the animal
  18. perch — the fish
  19. cell — in biology
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. board — to get on

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