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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. root — of a plant
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. root — of a word
  5. track — a song
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. last — final
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wound — an injury
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pit — in a race
  15. prune — to trim
  16. track — a path
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. root — the cause
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wound — an injury
  23. track — to keep track
  24. mouse — the animal

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