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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. land — to come down
  4. present — a gift
  5. land — ground
  6. root — of a plant
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wound — an injury
  9. land — a country
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. present — the time now
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. stock — shares
  14. sharp — clever
  15. present — there
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. root — the cause
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. stock — goods
  21. wound — an injury
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. root — of a word
  24. mine — for digging

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