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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. hand — in cards
  3. root — of a plant
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. suit — clothes
  6. cold — an illness
  7. toast — bread
  8. hand — help
  9. rest — what's left
  10. root — of a word
  11. field — a subject
  12. cold — not warm
  13. suit — in cards
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — thin
  16. field — for sport
  17. suit — to fit
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. root — the cause
  20. field — farmland
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rest — what's left
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. toast — the most admired

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