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

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. root — of a plant
  3. season — in sport
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. snap — to click
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. season — of the year
  13. chair — a leader
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. saw — the tool
  16. root — of a word
  17. saw — the tool
  18. root — the cause

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