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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — a position
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — of a word
  7. march — the month
  8. content — happy
  9. march — the month
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. root — the cause
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. prune — to trim
  17. land — ground
  18. roll — a list
  19. march — music
  20. prune — to trim
  21. content — the amount
  22. roll — a cake
  23. ground — crushed
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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