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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: rest · staff · nail · root · mouse · deal · cold · wound

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. deal — to handle
  3. cold — an illness
  4. root — of a plant
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. wound — an injury
  13. staff — a stick
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. root — of a word
  16. wound — an injury
  17. root — the cause
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rest — what's left
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. rest — a break
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. cold — the Cold War

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