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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 116 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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — a position
  7. root — of a plant
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ground — crushed
  11. shower — rain
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. mine — for digging
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. prune — to trim
  17. shower — to wash
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — there
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. root — of a word
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. root — the cause

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