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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. prune — to trim
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bear — the animal
  6. last — final
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. file — a tool
  10. root — the cause
  11. bear — the animal
  12. file — a line of people
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. last — finally
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. root — of a plant
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. row — to paddle
  21. file — a document
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. last — to go on
  24. dip — to sink

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