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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: root · hand · swing · wind · face · cap · roll · bear

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cap — a hat
  5. swing — in golf
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. hand — in cards
  9. root — of a plant
  10. bear — the animal
  11. swing — music
  12. face — to confront
  13. hand — help
  14. cap — a lid
  15. root — of a word
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bear — the animal
  18. root — the cause
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. roll — a cake
  24. face — part of the head

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