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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 120 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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rule — government
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — of a plant
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. wake — a trail
  17. kid — child
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. rule — a law
  21. sharp — clever
  22. branch — a division
  23. root — the cause
  24. rule — to rule out

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