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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. object — a thing
  3. row — a line
  4. land — a country
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. present — the time now
  8. root — of a word
  9. object — an aim
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. row — to paddle
  12. present — a gift
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rush — hurry
  18. prune — to trim
  19. present — there
  20. band — a music group
  21. object — to protest
  22. land — ground
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a plant

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