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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cue — a signal
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cue — a hint
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. root — of a plant
  13. cue — for pool
  14. root — the cause
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. kid — to tease
  17. file — a tool
  18. game — a match
  19. file — a document
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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