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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. root — the cause
  5. rest — a break
  6. land — ground
  7. staff — employees
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. land — a country
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. prune — to trim
  16. root — of a plant
  17. rest — what's left
  18. staff — a stick
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. staff — employees
  22. game — a match
  23. root — of a word
  24. land — to come down

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