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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  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. pop — music
  2. root — of a plant
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. spell — a short time
  5. root — of a word
  6. capital — a city
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pop — soda
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. capital — money
  13. wind — moving air
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pop — to visit
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. wind — moving air
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. hand — in cards
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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