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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wind · sharp · pop · cell · rock · root · ground · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pop — music
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. rock — music
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. cell — in biology
  9. root — of a word
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spring — a coil
  14. root — of a plant
  15. pop — soda
  16. root — the cause
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. spring — of water
  21. rock — a stone
  22. cell — a phone
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — with an edge

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