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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bank — for money
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — the cause
  5. fall — to drop
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — a container
  9. bank — of a river
  10. fall — to drop
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. wound — an injury
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bank — for money
  15. snap — to click
  16. land — a country
  17. root — of a plant
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. land — to come down
  22. tube — the underground
  23. fall — the season
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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