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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 water is too ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. spring — a coil
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a word
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. ground — a position
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. root — of a plant
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. rush — hurry
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. spring — of water
  19. cold — an illness
  20. fall — the season
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. spring — the season

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