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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. land — a country
  4. drill — the tool
  5. content — the amount
  6. prune — to trim
  7. root — of a plant
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. chair — a leader
  10. root — the cause
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. kid — to tease
  13. land — to come down
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. land — ground
  16. content — happy
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. root — of a word
  19. drill — army training
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — a tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. prune — to trim

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