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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 116 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. land — ground
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. land — a country
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. object — an aim
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. root — of a plant
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. land — to come down
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. root — of a word
  16. band — a music group
  17. bore — to drill
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. bore — to tire
  20. object — a thing
  21. kick — in football
  22. wake — a trail
  23. object — to protest
  24. root — the cause

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