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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. root — of a plant
  9. spring — of water
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cell — a phone
  12. kid — child
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. chip — for betting
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. spring — a coil
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. root — of a word
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. root — the cause
  22. spring — the season
  23. cell — in biology
  24. perch — the fish

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