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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. root — of a plant
  4. land — ground
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spring — of water
  7. chest — a box
  8. root — of a word
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. lie — to recline
  11. chest — of your body
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. land — a country
  19. root — the cause
  20. land — to come down
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. spring — a coil
  23. field — for sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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