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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 120 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: root · fall · kick · cold · band · swing · sharp · lash

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. swing — to play on
  3. fall — to drop
  4. swing — music
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. band — a ring
  8. fall — to drop
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. kick — in football
  11. fall — the season
  12. swing — in golf
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. sharp — clever
  17. root — of a plant
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cold — an illness
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. band — a music group
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a word

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