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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 120 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 refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mug — a face
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. land — ground
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. spring — a coil
  8. land — to come down
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — the cause
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. board — a committee
  16. pound — a weight
  17. hand — help
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. mug — to rob
  20. board — to get on
  21. root — of a word
  22. land — a country
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. hand — part of the body

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