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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. root — of a plant
  3. land — a country
  4. pitch — completely
  5. wound — an injury
  6. land — ground
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. rock — a stone
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. row — to paddle
  15. wound — an injury
  16. land — to come down
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — music
  19. row — a line
  20. net — for catching
  21. root — the cause
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. net — after costs
  24. root — of a word

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