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

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. lean — to bend
  3. root — of a word
  4. chip — for betting
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. shower — rain
  10. root — the cause
  11. mine — for digging
  12. field — farmland
  13. lean — thin
  14. field — a subject
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — for sport
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. shower — to wash
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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