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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mate — a friend
  3. pop — music
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. pop — to visit
  6. cold — an illness
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — of a word
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mate — to breed
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. drill — the tool
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. mate — a partner
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. root — the cause
  19. drill — a practice
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pop — soda
  22. drill — army training
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. pound — a weight

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