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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 116 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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. root — the cause
  3. face — to confront
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. track — to keep track
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. band — a ring
  11. track — a path
  12. root — of a plant
  13. rash — hasty
  14. face — part of the head
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. shower — rain
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. track — a song
  22. face — to point toward
  23. root — of a word
  24. wound — an injury

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