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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 116 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: root · cold · current · nail · wind · bat · mate · wound

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. root — of a word
  3. cold — an illness
  4. root — the cause
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. mate — a friend
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mate — a partner
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. wound — an injury
  17. current — of water
  18. mate — to breed
  19. wind — moving air
  20. current — electric
  21. current — happening now
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bat — the animal
  24. nail — on a finger

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