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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. drill — a practice
  4. capital — a city
  5. track — a song
  6. track — a path
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. land — ground
  10. mine — for digging
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. land — a country
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. root — the cause
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bear — the animal
  19. capital — money
  20. root — of a plant
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. drill — army training
  23. land — to come down
  24. drill — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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