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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rest — a break
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bear — the animal
  6. mark — a grade
  7. rest — what's left
  8. shower — rain
  9. spring — a coil
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. spring — of water
  13. root — of a word
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mark — a trace
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. row — a line
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — the cause
  24. spring — the season

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