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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. mate — a friend
  5. root — of a word
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. shower — rain
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. root — of a plant
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. land — a country
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — a thing
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. root — the cause
  22. object — an aim
  23. shower — to wash
  24. mate — a partner

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