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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bear — the animal
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rock — music
  5. object — to protest
  6. swing — to play on
  7. root — the cause
  8. swing — music
  9. land — ground
  10. root — of a word
  11. rock — a stone
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. land — to come down
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bear — the animal
  16. object — an aim
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. object — a thing
  21. root — of a plant
  22. kid — to tease
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. swing — in golf

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