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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. root — of a plant
  3. root — of a word
  4. wind — moving air
  5. roll — a list
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — for digging
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. toast — bread
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. fork — in a road
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. wind — moving air
  17. root — the cause
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. roll — a cake
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. shower — rain
  24. mine — belonging to me

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