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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. saw — the tool
  3. net — in sport
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. root — of a word
  6. net — after costs
  7. snap — to click
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. saw — the tool
  12. root — of a plant
  13. land — to come down
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rest — what's left
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. craft — a skill
  18. land — ground
  19. craft — boats
  20. net — for catching
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. root — the cause
  24. fan — to cool the 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