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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. root — the cause
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. last — finally
  5. kid — to tease
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to bend
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — of a word
  12. foot — a measure
  13. last — final
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. last — to go on
  17. game — a match
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. mine — for digging
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — of the year
  24. kid — child

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