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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mine — for digging
  5. firm — steady
  6. rash — a series
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. spring — a coil
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. mate — a friend
  11. root — of a word
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. prune — to trim
  14. spring — of water
  15. root — the cause
  16. spring — the season
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rash — hasty
  19. firm — a company
  20. firm — decided
  21. mate — to breed
  22. prune — to trim
  23. root — of a plant
  24. kid — to tease

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