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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 120 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 ________________ went through the wall.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. swing — music
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. root — of a plant
  8. swing — in golf
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. track — a song
  11. cue — a signal
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. hand — help
  17. swing — to play on
  18. cold — not warm
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. root — the cause
  22. track — to keep track
  23. cue — a hint
  24. track — a path

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