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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. root — of a word
  3. rule — government
  4. kid — child
  5. object — to protest
  6. rule — a law
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. root — the cause
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. last — finally
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. last — to go on
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. object — an aim
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. object — a thing
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. last — final
  22. deal — to handle
  23. root — of a plant
  24. rule — to rule out

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