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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: wake · chest · degree · root · swing · sharp · hand · hide

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. sharp — clever
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wake — a trail
  6. root — of a plant
  7. degree — an amount
  8. swing — music
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. swing — in golf
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. swing — to play on
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. degree — from a university
  17. hand — in cards
  18. chest — a box
  19. hand — help
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. degree — temperature
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. chest — of your body
  24. root — the cause

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