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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. land — ground
  3. shower — rain
  4. root — of a word
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. ground — crushed
  7. land — a country
  8. root — the cause
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. root — of a plant
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. rash — hasty
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. rash — a series
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. shower — to wash
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. land — to come down
  24. ground — the earth

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