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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. root — the cause
  4. spell — letters
  5. tube — a container
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. spell — a short time
  8. row — a line
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. root — of a plant
  12. cell — in biology
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cell — a phone
  15. row — to paddle
  16. chip — to eat
  17. fork — in a road
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. tube — the underground
  22. root — of a word
  23. chip — for betting
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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