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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 124 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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a dance
  5. land — ground
  6. ball — a great time
  7. land — to come down
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. charge — in control
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. game — a match
  12. charge — electricity
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mine — for digging
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pound — a weight
  17. root — of a plant
  18. chest — a box
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. land — a country
  23. root — the cause
  24. charge — a price

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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