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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: rash · cabinet · kid · ground · root · deal · tear · trunk

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rash — a series
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. tear — from crying
  9. root — the cause
  10. ground — the earth
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. root — of a word
  14. tear — from crying
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. deal — to handle
  18. root — of a plant
  19. ground — a position
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. ground — crushed
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. tear — to rip

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