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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. root — the cause
  3. band — a music group
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cold — not warm
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. track — a path
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. kick — in football
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. fine — all right
  18. band — a ring
  19. root — of a plant
  20. fine — high quality
  21. root — of a word
  22. track — to keep track
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. hide — animal skin

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