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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: pound · game · bowl · root · dip · trunk · present · cold

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. root — of a word
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. game — a match
  5. present — the time now
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. cold — not warm
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — the cause
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cold — an illness
  16. present — a gift
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. pound — a weight
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bowl — a football final

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