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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. root — of a word
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. row — to paddle
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. bat — the animal
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. fine — high quality
  19. row — a line
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. root — the cause
  22. deal — to handle
  23. root — of a plant
  24. fine — all right

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