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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. spell — a short time
  4. root — the cause
  5. spell — letters
  6. rock — a stone
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. root — of a word
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bound — tied together
  11. root — of a plant
  12. land — to come down
  13. net — after costs
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. rock — music
  17. land — a country
  18. spell — magic
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bound — certain
  21. foot — a measure
  22. net — in sport
  23. prune — to trim
  24. net — for catching

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