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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. root — of a word
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. board — a committee
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. board — to get on
  7. game — a match
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. root — the cause
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. toast — bread
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. deal — to handle
  18. wound — an injury
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. wound — an injury
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. root — of a plant
  24. game — wild animals

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