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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. root — of a word
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. wake — a trail
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. ground — the earth
  12. root — the cause
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. ground — a position
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. kid — child
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. root — of a plant

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