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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. root — of a plant
  3. root — the cause
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — to breed
  7. land — ground
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cold — not warm
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. shower — rain
  14. mate — a friend
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. land — to come down
  17. squash — to crush
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pound — a weight
  21. root — of a word
  22. land — a country
  23. squash — the sport
  24. cold — an illness

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