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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. root — the cause
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. club — for golf
  6. current — of water
  7. cue — a signal
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cue — a hint
  12. club — a group
  13. pound — a weight
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. current — electric
  16. cold — not warm
  17. club — for dancing
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. last — to go on
  20. cue — for pool
  21. root — of a plant
  22. current — happening now
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pound — to hit hard

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