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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 120 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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. hand — in cards
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. root — of a word
  5. ground — crushed
  6. root — the cause
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. pop — to visit
  9. ground — a position
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. pop — music
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. ground — the earth
  15. root — of a plant
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rush — hurry
  20. pop — soda
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. hand — help

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