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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: object · cold · tear · bowl · root · wind

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. root — the cause
  9. object — to protest
  10. cold — an illness
  11. tear — from crying
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — a thing
  14. cold — not warm
  15. root — of a word
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. wind — to turn a key

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