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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. land — ground
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mine — for digging
  6. land — a country
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. land — to come down
  13. bear — the animal
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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