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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — of a plant
  4. plane — a tool
  5. court — of a king
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a document
  8. ground — crushed
  9. wind — moving air
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. ground — a position
  13. track — a path
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. file — a tool
  16. track — to keep track
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. court — for sport
  19. track — a song
  20. root — the cause
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. ground — the earth
  24. court — of law

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