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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. hand — in cards
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — of a plant
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. sharp — clever
  12. root — the cause
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. hand — help
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wind — moving air
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wind — moving air
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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