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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mine — for digging
  4. land — ground
  5. root — of a word
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bank — for money
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. land — to come down
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bank — for money
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bank — of a river
  16. root — of a plant
  17. land — a country
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hand — help
  20. swing — music
  21. root — the cause
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. swing — in golf
  24. hand — in cards

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