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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · kid · suit · root · shower · fall · spell · ground

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. spell — a short time
  3. root — of a word
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. ground — the earth
  7. root — of a plant
  8. kid — to tease
  9. spell — magic
  10. fall — to drop
  11. game — a match
  12. suit — to fit
  13. suit — in cards
  14. spell — letters
  15. shower — rain
  16. kid — child
  17. root — the cause
  18. shower — to wash
  19. game — wild animals
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — a position
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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