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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. root — of a plant
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wind — moving air
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. sharp — clever
  8. root — the cause
  9. wind — moving air
  10. band — a ring
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cell — in biology
  15. root — of a word
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cold — an illness
  18. foot — a measure
  19. cold — not warm
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. band — a music group
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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