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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 116 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. root — of a plant
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spell — magic
  5. root — of a word
  6. cold — not warm
  7. drill — army training
  8. mark — a grade
  9. root — the cause
  10. rash — a series
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. drill — the tool
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. saw — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. rock — a stone
  21. mark — a trace
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rock — music
  24. saw — the tool

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