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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.

Words on the sheet
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: cold · straw · root · racket · face · spell · fan · ground

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. spell — magic
  3. root — the cause
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. face — to point toward
  7. spell — a short time
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — a position
  15. root — of a word
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. face — to confront
  19. cold — not warm
  20. ground — crushed
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. face — part of the head
  23. root — of a plant
  24. spell — letters

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