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

Word bank: root · bowl · pop · present · cold · mark · ruler · calf

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. mark — a grade
  6. pop — music
  7. cold — an illness
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — the cause
  10. pop — soda
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. present — a gift
  13. cold — not warm
  14. present — there
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. mark — a trace
  18. present — the time now
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. root — of a word
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. ruler — for measuring

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