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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: field · snap · tear · pit · rush · wind · root · wake

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. tear — to rip
  3. root — of a plant
  4. wind — moving air
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. field — farmland
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. snap — to click
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. root — the cause
  14. field — a subject
  15. pit — a hole
  16. root — of a word
  17. wake — a trail
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. wind — moving air
  21. field — for sport
  22. pit — in a race
  23. rush — hurry
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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