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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: spell · tear · press · cue · mine · root · bat · snap

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. tear — from crying
  3. root — of a word
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cue — a hint
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. press — to push
  9. cue — for pool
  10. root — the cause
  11. spell — a short time
  12. tear — to rip
  13. spell — letters
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. spell — magic
  16. root — of a plant
  17. cue — a signal
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. snap — to click
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. tear — from crying
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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