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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. last — final
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — of a plant
  6. last — finally
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. tear — to rip
  9. dip — to sink
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. last — to go on
  12. tear — from crying
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. tear — from crying
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. root — the cause
  17. band — a ring
  18. shower — rain
  19. object — a thing
  20. object — to protest
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. band — a music group
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. shower — to wash

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