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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cold — not warm
  3. root — of a word
  4. roll — a cake
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. lean — thin
  7. kick — in football
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. roll — a list
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a plant
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cold — an illness
  24. racket — a loud noise

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