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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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468
Word bank
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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. tear — to rip
  3. file — a document
  4. root — of a plant
  5. kid — child
  6. root — of a word
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. file — a tool
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. pitch — completely
  19. file — a line of people
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. lean — to bend
  24. root — the cause

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