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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 124 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — the animal
  3. file — a tool
  4. wake — a trail
  5. root — the cause
  6. spell — magic
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. spell — letters
  11. root — of a word
  12. file — a document
  13. spell — a short time
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. file — a line of people
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. root — of a plant

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