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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: kid · shower · swing · mug · wake · tear · wind · root

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wind — moving air
  5. root — of a plant
  6. wake — a trail
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. tear — to rip
  12. swing — music
  13. root — of a word
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. swing — to play on
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. mug — a cup
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mug — a face
  22. kid — child
  23. mug — to rob
  24. swing — in golf

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