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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 124 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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — of a plant
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bore — to tire
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. capital — money
  8. bore — to drill
  9. capital — a city
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wind — moving air
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. root — the cause
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. chest — of your body
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wind — moving air

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