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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: band · wave · kick · cold · pass · content · snap · root

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. content — happy
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. content — the amount
  5. band — a ring
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. kick — in football
  9. cold — an illness
  10. snap — to click
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. root — of a plant
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. pass — a permit
  15. root — of a word
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. band — a music group
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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