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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 120 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. root — of a plant
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. present — a gift
  5. pound — a weight
  6. tear — from crying
  7. root — of a word
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. present — the time now
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. game — wild animals
  16. shower — rain
  17. present — there
  18. game — a match
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. game — a kind of play
  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