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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: fan · wind · racket · season · mate · root · deal · track

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mate — a partner
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. root — of a word
  6. track — to keep track
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. track — a song
  9. season — in sport
  10. track — a path
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. season — of the year
  13. root — the cause
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. root — of a plant
  19. wind — moving air
  20. deal — to handle
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. racket — for tennis

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