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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: saw · rest · root · face · cold · stick · spell · club

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. saw — the tool
  5. root — the cause
  6. rest — a break
  7. spell — magic
  8. face — to point toward
  9. root — of a plant
  10. spell — letters
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. face — to confront
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. face — part of the head
  16. spell — a short time
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rest — what's left
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. root — of a word
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — for dancing
  23. rest — what's left
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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