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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. root — of a plant
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. fork — in a road
  10. wake — a trail
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. ground — the earth
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. ground — a position
  16. cell — in biology
  17. ground — crushed
  18. lie — to recline
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a word
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — before a funeral

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