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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. hand — help
  3. wound — an injury
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — the cause
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cue — for pool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. file — a document
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. lean — to bend
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — a signal
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. pit — in a race
  22. hand — in cards
  23. file — a tool
  24. pit — a hole

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