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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  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. land — ground
  2. pop — soda
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. key — the most important part
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pop — to visit
  7. press — a publisher
  8. cold — an illness
  9. key — for a lock
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. land — to come down
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pop — music
  15. land — a country
  16. root — of a plant
  17. key — in music
  18. pit — a hole
  19. press — to push
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. pit — in a race
  22. press — newspapers
  23. root — of a word
  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