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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fall — the season
  3. wind — moving air
  4. root — the cause
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. track — a path
  9. track — to keep track
  10. root — of a plant
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. fall — to drop
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. track — a song
  16. fall — to drop
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. root — of a word
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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