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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. firm — decided
  3. snap — to click
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. spell — letters
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. spell — magic
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. root — of a word
  13. rock — music
  14. root — the cause
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. court — of law
  18. firm — steady
  19. rock — a stone
  20. root — of a plant
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. spell — a short time
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bat — the animal

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