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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. drill — army training
  3. root — of a word
  4. mine — for digging
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. drill — a practice
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. spring — a coil
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. mark — a grade
  16. root — the cause
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. spring — of water
  19. root — of a plant
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. drill — the tool
  22. mark — a trace
  23. spring — the season
  24. mine — an explosive

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