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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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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: squash · fine · root · cold · wound · kid · roll · present

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fine — high quality
  3. present — the time now
  4. squash — to crush
  5. wound — an injury
  6. present — there
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. root — the cause
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. squash — the sport
  13. wound — an injury
  14. present — a gift
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. roll — a cake
  18. fine — all right
  19. kid — child
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. roll — a list
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — of a plant
  24. kid — to tease

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