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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. root — of a word
  3. face — to confront
  4. hand — in cards
  5. swing — to play on
  6. saw — the tool
  7. track — a path
  8. file — a line of people
  9. face — to point toward
  10. ground — crushed
  11. saw — the tool
  12. file — a tool
  13. swing — music
  14. hand — help
  15. swing — in golf
  16. face — part of the head
  17. track — a song
  18. file — a document
  19. root — the cause
  20. ground — the earth
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. root — of a plant
  23. track — to keep track
  24. ground — a position

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