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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. squash — to crush
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — in cards
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — of ice
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a plant
  18. cap — a lid
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. shower — rain

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