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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  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. cell — in biology
  2. root — of a plant
  3. root — of a word
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. kid — child
  6. present — a gift
  7. mine — for digging
  8. last — finally
  9. snap — to click
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. last — to go on
  13. kid — to tease
  14. present — the time now
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. present — there
  17. last — final
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cell — a phone
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. root — the cause
  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