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

Word bank: root · club · present · tear · wake · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — a group
  6. tear — from crying
  7. root — of a plant
  8. tear — from crying
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. tear — to rip
  11. kick — in football
  12. present — the time now
  13. root — the cause
  14. present — there
  15. root — of a word
  16. present — a gift
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — a trail

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