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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — the earth
  3. root — of a plant
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. object — to protest
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. root — of a word
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. object — a thing
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. object — an aim
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. root — the cause
  17. chip — for betting
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. chip — to eat

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