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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 a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. land — a country
  3. season — in sport
  4. land — to come down
  5. chair — a leader
  6. board — to get on
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. root — the cause
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. board — a committee
  14. root — of a word
  15. drill — army training
  16. wind — moving air
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. drill — a practice
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. land — ground
  21. drill — the tool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. calf — of the leg

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