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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 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. wind — moving air
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. wind — moving air
  5. root — of a plant
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. rash — a series
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. rash — hasty
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. root — the cause
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wind — to turn a key

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