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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mark — a grade
  3. land — ground
  4. object — to protest
  5. root — of a word
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. land — a country
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. pit — in a race
  11. mark — a trace
  12. root — of a plant
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pit — a hole
  17. land — to come down
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. object — an aim
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. object — a thing
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. root — the cause

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