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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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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: foot · date · chip · pound · root · rush · wake · bat

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. foot — a measure
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. chip — for betting
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. pound — a weight
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. date — the fruit
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. root — the cause
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bat — the animal
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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