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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: board · game · root · spring · pop · hand

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. spring — a coil
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pop — to visit
  6. root — of a word
  7. spring — the season
  8. hand — help
  9. board — to get on
  10. pop — soda
  11. spring — of water
  12. hand — in cards
  13. game — wild animals
  14. root — the cause
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. pop — music
  17. game — a match
  18. root — of a plant

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