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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. spell — letters
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. fall — to drop
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. scale — size or range
  10. perch — the fish
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. spell — magic
  16. fall — the season
  17. root — of a plant
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. lean — thin
  20. land — ground
  21. spell — a short time
  22. lean — to bend
  23. root — the cause
  24. coach — a trainer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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