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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: craft · wave · cold · bay · tear · root

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cold — an illness
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. craft — a skill
  12. craft — boats
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. tear — from crying
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. bay — a part of the sea

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