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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. land — a country
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. root — of a plant
  5. content — happy
  6. root — of a word
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. chest — a box
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. row — a line
  18. land — to come down
  19. deal — to handle
  20. chest — of your body
  21. land — ground
  22. content — the amount
  23. root — the cause
  24. row — a quarrel

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