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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. scale — size or range
  3. drill — army training
  4. current — of water
  5. current — electric
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bat — the animal
  8. file — a tool
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. root — the cause
  13. file — a line of people
  14. drill — a practice
  15. file — a document
  16. root — of a word
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. pit — a hole
  19. current — happening now
  20. pit — in a race
  21. scale — in music
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. scale — for weighing

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