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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stem — to come from
  6. root — of a word
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rash — hasty
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. shower — rain
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a plant
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. shower — to wash
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. rash — a series
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — a trail

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