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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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468
Word bank
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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. root — of a word
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. track — a path
  7. track — a song
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. charge — electricity
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. charge — in control
  16. stem — to come from
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. root — the cause
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. root — of a plant
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. charge — a price
  23. track — to keep track
  24. wind — moving air

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