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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: sharp · cold · lean · root · fall · racket · prune · kid

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. root — of a plant
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — clever
  10. root — the cause
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lean — to bend
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lean — thin
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. kid — child
  19. cold — not warm
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. fall — the season
  22. root — of a word
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. fall — to drop

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