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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. wind — moving air
  4. can — a tin
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — the cause
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. charge — electricity
  11. deal — to handle
  12. prune — to trim
  13. can — to be able to
  14. cold — an illness
  15. charge — a price
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. can — a tin
  19. wind — moving air
  20. dip — to sink
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. charge — in control
  24. cold — not warm

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