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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 116 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. present — a gift
  6. mine — for digging
  7. staff — a stick
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. present — the time now
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. land — a country
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. present — there
  16. plane — a tool
  17. land — ground
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. root — the cause
  20. staff — employees
  21. land — to come down
  22. staff — employees
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. root — of a plant

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