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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. root — of a plant
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. last — to go on
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. land — a country
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. root — the cause
  18. mine — for digging
  19. land — to come down
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. last — finally
  22. land — ground
  23. last — final
  24. bowl — a football final

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