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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. chip — for betting
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rock — music
  5. last — finally
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rock — a stone
  8. last — to go on
  9. wind — moving air
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. chip — to eat
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. root — the cause
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wind — moving air
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — a friend
  21. root — of a plant
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. root — of a word
  24. last — final

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