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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. prune — to trim
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. root — of a word
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. prune — to trim
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tear — from crying
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. tear — to rip
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. tube — a container
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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