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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. snap — to click
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. drill — army training
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rash — hasty
  8. root — the cause
  9. kid — child
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. pop — soda
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. root — of a plant
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. rash — a series
  21. pitch — completely
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pop — music
  24. kid — to tease

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