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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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. lean — thin
  4. scale — in music
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bank — for money
  7. file — a line of people
  8. hand — in cards
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. dip — to sink
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — to eat
  13. lean — to bend
  14. root — of a word
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. scale — size or range
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. root — the cause
  19. bank — of a river
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. hand — help
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bank — for money

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