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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. can — to be able to
  4. land — a country
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to confront
  7. ground — the earth
  8. face — to point toward
  9. clip — a video
  10. track — a song
  11. root — of a word
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a path
  14. root — the cause
  15. can — a tin
  16. clip — for paper
  17. ground — crushed
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. can — a tin
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. clip — to cut
  23. root — of a plant
  24. wave — with your hand

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