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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 124 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. spell — a short time
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. spell — letters
  8. root — of a word
  9. rush — hurry
  10. ground — the earth
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. fall — the season
  15. land — to come down
  16. ground — crushed
  17. root — of a plant
  18. spell — magic
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ground — a position
  21. fall — to drop
  22. root — the cause
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. prune — to trim

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