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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cell — in biology
  4. kid — child
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — low music
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. current — of water
  12. current — happening now
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spell — letters
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cell — a phone
  17. current — electric
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. net — in sport
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — the cause

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