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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. capital — a city
  5. fall — to drop
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a path
  8. root — of a plant
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. track — a song
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. rash — a series
  16. root — the cause
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. fall — the season
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. rash — hasty
  24. wave — with your hand

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