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

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. root — of a plant
  3. root — of a word
  4. snap — to click
  5. prune — to trim
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. tear — to rip
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. root — the cause
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. tear — from crying

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