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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. stand — to bear
  3. last — to go on
  4. club — for golf
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. kid — child
  9. rash — hasty
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. root — the cause
  12. club — a group
  13. root — of a plant
  14. rash — a series
  15. club — for dancing
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. last — final
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. kid — to tease
  23. last — finally
  24. mine — an explosive

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