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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wind — moving air
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. root — the cause
  5. season — of the year
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. ground — a position
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. root — of a word
  13. ground — the earth
  14. kid — to tease
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. root — of a plant
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. season — in sport
  22. kid — child
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. ground — crushed

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