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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. land — a country
  3. rash — a series
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. land — ground
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. root — the cause
  9. row — a line
  10. dip — to sink
  11. rash — hasty
  12. land — to come down
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bear — the animal
  15. kick — in football
  16. bear — the animal
  17. swing — music
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. root — of a plant
  20. row — to paddle
  21. swing — in golf
  22. root — of a word
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. dip — a sauce

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