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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cue — a signal
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. root — of a plant
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. cue — for pool
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. root — of a word
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cue — a hint
  12. root — the cause
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wound — an injury
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. scale — in music
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. scale — size or range

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