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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. tear — from crying
  3. root — of a plant
  4. tear — from crying
  5. root — of a word
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chip — to eat
  8. present — a gift
  9. ground — the earth
  10. shower — rain
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — a short time
  13. root — the cause
  14. prune — to trim
  15. ground — a position
  16. present — the time now
  17. shower — to wash
  18. ground — crushed
  19. prune — to trim
  20. chip — for betting
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. present — there
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. chip — in a computer

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