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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. root — of a word
  5. hand — help
  6. spell — letters
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. bass — the fish
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. file — a tool
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. file — a document
  13. bass — low music
  14. spell — magic
  15. hand — in cards
  16. root — of a plant
  17. track — a song
  18. track — a path
  19. deal — to handle
  20. spell — a short time
  21. track — to keep track
  22. root — the cause
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. file — a line of people

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