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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. root — of a plant
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chest — of your body
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. root — the cause
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. root — of a word
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. sharp — clever
  24. stand — to bear

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