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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. fork — in a road
  3. kid — to tease
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. root — of a word
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wake — a trail
  10. root — the cause
  11. rock — a stone
  12. root — of a plant
  13. kid — child
  14. hand — help
  15. swing — in golf
  16. rock — music
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. swing — music
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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