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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. root — the cause
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pit — in a race
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. tear — to rip
  8. drill — army training
  9. fall — the season
  10. land — to come down
  11. rest — what's left
  12. root — of a word
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. root — of a plant
  16. fall — to drop
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. land — ground
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. fall — to drop
  23. prune — to trim
  24. land — a country

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