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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. root — of a word
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spell — letters
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. board — a committee
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. spell — a short time
  13. mine — for digging
  14. roll — a list
  15. lean — to bend
  16. spell — magic
  17. roll — a cake
  18. board — to get on
  19. root — the cause
  20. deal — to handle
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. lean — thin

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