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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. last — finally
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. root — the cause
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wind — moving air
  11. last — final
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. root — of a word
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. root — of a plant
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — for money
  21. last — to go on
  22. foot — a measure
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wind — moving air

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