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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. root — of a plant
  3. current — electric
  4. land — ground
  5. current — happening now
  6. cell — in biology
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — a group
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — crushed
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. club — for golf
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. root — of a word
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. current — of water
  21. ground — a position
  22. land — to come down
  23. root — the cause
  24. fork — to eat with

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