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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. face — to confront
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. spring — the season
  5. root — of a word
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. ground — a position
  9. root — of a plant
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. sharp — clever
  12. dip — to sink
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. ground — crushed
  15. face — part of the head
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. ground — the earth
  19. pound — a weight
  20. spring — of water
  21. root — the cause
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. face — to point toward
  24. jam — a tight spot

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