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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. game — wild animals
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. land — ground
  5. ground — a position
  6. land — a country
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. ground — crushed
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. land — to come down
  12. game — a match
  13. object — an aim
  14. root — of a word
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. object — a thing
  19. ground — the earth
  20. root — the cause
  21. mine — for digging
  22. object — to protest
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bark — to shout

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