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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 116 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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. shower — to wash
  3. root — of a plant
  4. spell — magic
  5. root — the cause
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. shower — rain
  9. root — of a word
  10. file — a tool
  11. spell — letters
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. file — a line of people
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. spell — a short time
  16. pit — in a race
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. file — a document
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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