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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. suit — to fit
  3. wound — an injury
  4. suit — in cards
  5. cell — a phone
  6. present — a gift
  7. suit — clothes
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cell — in biology
  13. ground — crushed
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. ground — a position
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. present — the time now
  18. root — the cause
  19. ground — the earth
  20. present — there
  21. wound — an injury
  22. row — a line
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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