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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 120 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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. 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. root — of a word
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. face — part of the head
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. drill — a practice
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. rash — a series
  12. dip — to sink
  13. wind — moving air
  14. face — to confront
  15. rash — hasty
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wind — moving air
  18. drill — army training
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. shower — rain
  23. drill — the tool
  24. 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