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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. land — a country
  3. kid — child
  4. date — the fruit
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. land — ground
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. kid — to tease
  9. court — of a king
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. court — for sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — the cause
  16. rest — a break
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. rest — what's left
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. root — of a plant
  21. land — to come down
  22. court — of law
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. date — on the calendar

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