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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: deal · pit · march · mine · root · kid · spell · net

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — child
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. root — of a plant
  7. pit — a hole
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. net — for catching
  10. march — the month
  11. mine — for digging
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. kid — to tease
  14. root — the cause
  15. spell — letters
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. pit — in a race
  18. spell — a short time
  19. march — music
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. march — the month
  22. deal — to handle
  23. spell — magic
  24. root — of a word

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