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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 120 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: game · tear · root · swing · lash · kid · pass · chip

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. swing — to play on
  4. kid — child
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pass — a permit
  8. tear — from crying
  9. game — a match
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. tear — to rip
  12. kid — to tease
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. swing — in golf
  15. chip — for betting
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. swing — music
  19. root — the cause
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. chip — to eat
  24. root — of a word

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