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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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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: sharp · wind · track · kid · root · hide

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. root — the cause
  3. wind — moving air
  4. root — of a plant
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. track — a song
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. track — a path
  10. wind — moving air
  11. root — of a word
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. track — to keep track
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. hide — to keep secret

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