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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 124 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. snap — to click
  3. tear — to rip
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. root — of a word
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. squash — to crush
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. tear — from crying
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wind — moving air
  13. root — the cause
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. root — of a plant
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. squash — the sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. wind — moving air
  24. prune — to trim

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