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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rash — hasty
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. kid — child
  6. wake — a trail
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. pound — a weight
  9. row — a line
  10. root — of a word
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. root — of a plant
  13. row — to paddle
  14. season — of the year
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. fall — the season
  18. season — in sport
  19. rash — a series
  20. root — the cause
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. wake — before a funeral

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