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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 120 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. stand — to bear
  3. content — happy
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. game — wild animals
  6. root — the cause
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. club — a group
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — of a word
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. club — for dancing
  16. content — the amount
  17. club — for golf
  18. rush — hurry
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — a match

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