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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: wound · last · root · patient · press · file · ball · game

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. root — of a plant
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. press — to push
  5. wound — an injury
  6. last — final
  7. game — a match
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wound — an injury
  10. root — of a word
  11. press — a publisher
  12. last — to go on
  13. file — a document
  14. ball — a great time
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. last — finally
  17. game — wild animals
  18. file — a tool
  19. root — the cause
  20. ball — a dance
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. press — newspapers
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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