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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. saw — the tool
  4. root — of a plant
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wound — an injury
  7. root — of a word
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. wound — an injury
  10. drill — the tool
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. rash — a series
  13. root — the cause
  14. saw — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. drill — army training
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — to handle

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