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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 116 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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. kid — to tease
  3. root — of a word
  4. fall — to drop
  5. swing — in golf
  6. fall — the season
  7. root — of a plant
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — in a race
  10. last — finally
  11. swing — to play on
  12. ground — a position
  13. band — a music group
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. band — a ring
  16. last — to go on
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. root — the cause
  20. last — final
  21. ground — crushed
  22. swing — music
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. kid — child

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