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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. root — of a word
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. march — the month
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. root — the cause
  11. march — music
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. march — the month
  14. root — of a plant
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bat — the animal
  17. kick — in football
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — a thrill

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