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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · tear · rash · fall · cold · root

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cold — not warm
  4. root — of a plant
  5. tear — to rip
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. fall — the season
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. fall — to drop
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — hasty
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cold — an illness
  18. root — the cause

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