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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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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: land · mark · spring · bat · ball · sharp · kid · root

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. kid — child
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. land — ground
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — a country
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. root — the cause
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. spring — the season
  14. root — of a word
  15. bat — the animal
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mark — a trace
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. spring — of water
  21. ball — a great time
  22. spring — a coil
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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