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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. club — for golf
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. club — a group
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a plant
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fine — all right
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. land — a country
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. cold — an illness
  16. root — of a word
  17. land — to come down
  18. club — for dancing
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. scale — in music
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. scale — size or range
  24. fine — high quality

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