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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: cue · root · roll · bay · ground · cold · kid · bear

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. bear — the animal
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. kid — child
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — for pool
  10. roll — a cake
  11. root — of a plant
  12. roll — a list
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cold — not warm
  16. root — the cause
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. cold — an illness
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. root — of a word
  22. ground — a position
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cold — the Cold War

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