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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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468
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: fan · cold · wave · fine · root · squash · dip · wake

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fine — all right
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. root — of a word
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. dip — to sink
  13. root — of a plant
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. cold — not warm
  21. squash — to crush
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. root — the cause

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