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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. land — ground
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. land — to come down
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bore — to drill
  11. scale — in music
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. root — the cause
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — to eat
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bore — to tire
  20. pass — a permit
  21. land — a country
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. root — of a plant

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