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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: snap · rush · fall · root · hand · march · tube · game

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. fall — the season
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. root — of a word
  6. fall — to drop
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. fall — to drop
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. snap — to click
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. hand — help
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. hand — in cards
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. rush — hurry
  19. march — the month
  20. tube — the underground
  21. game — a match
  22. tube — a container
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. root — the cause

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