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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. track — a path
  5. root — of a word
  6. land — ground
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. root — the cause
  10. land — a country
  11. track — to keep track
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. last — final
  15. pound — a weight
  16. prune — to trim
  17. track — a song
  18. land — to come down
  19. root — of a plant
  20. present — the time now
  21. last — finally
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. last — to go on
  24. present — a gift

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