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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. track — a song
  3. root — of a plant
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. drill — a practice
  6. chest — of your body
  7. shower — to wash
  8. root — the cause
  9. chest — a box
  10. track — to keep track
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. chest — of your body
  13. shower — rain
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. track — a path
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wake — a trail
  20. drill — the tool
  21. plane — a tool
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. drill — army training

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