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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. last — to go on
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. root — of a plant
  7. ground — a position
  8. last — finally
  9. root — of a word
  10. net — in sport
  11. mine — for digging
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. net — for catching
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. ground — crushed
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. net — after costs
  19. last — final
  20. mate — a partner
  21. root — the cause
  22. ground — the earth
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. hand — help

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