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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. capital — money
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. root — of a plant
  9. present — there
  10. capital — a city
  11. bear — the animal
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. perch — the fish
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — the time now
  17. root — the cause
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bear — the animal
  23. ground — crushed
  24. sharp — clever

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