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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. spring — a coil
  4. land — to come down
  5. charge — in control
  6. spring — of water
  7. land — a country
  8. root — of a word
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. land — ground
  11. stem — to come from
  12. root — of a plant
  13. mate — a friend
  14. charge — a price
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spring — the season
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wind — moving air
  21. root — the cause
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. charge — electricity
  24. mine — an explosive

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