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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: kid · hand · cell · root · ball · dip · sharp · cold

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. hand — help
  3. cell — in biology
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. root — the cause
  9. ball — a great time
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. cell — a phone
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cold — an illness
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. kid — to tease
  19. root — of a word
  20. ball — a dance
  21. kid — child
  22. cold — not warm
  23. dip — to sink
  24. sharp — clever

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