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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: rash · dip · snap · root · bat · scale · land · bay

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  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. land — ground
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. land — a country
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — of a word
  9. land — to come down
  10. snap — to click
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. dip — to sink
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rash — a series
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. scale — in music
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. bat — the animal
  22. rash — hasty
  23. dip — a sauce
  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