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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spell — a short time
  3. squash — the sport
  4. spell — letters
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — the earth
  7. root — of a word
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. court — for sport
  10. root — of a plant
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. root — the cause
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — a series
  17. ground — crushed
  18. court — of law
  19. spring — the season
  20. squash — to crush
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. court — of a king
  23. spell — magic
  24. fan — a supporter

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