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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 116 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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. track — a path
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. rest — a break
  5. squash — the sport
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. track — a song
  9. face — to confront
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — a trail
  17. squash — to crush
  18. root — of a word
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. track — to keep track
  21. rest — what's left
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. rest — what's left

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