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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 116 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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fine — high quality
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — of a word
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. content — happy
  9. ground — crushed
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wind — moving air
  12. land — to come down
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wind — moving air
  16. land — ground
  17. ground — a position
  18. fine — all right
  19. tear — to rip
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — to breed
  22. ground — the earth
  23. content — the amount
  24. land — a country

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