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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. root — of a word
  3. mine — for digging
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. deal — to handle
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mate — a partner
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. mate — a friend
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. can — to be able to
  15. hand — help
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. root — of a plant
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. mate — to breed
  23. root — the cause
  24. hide — to keep secret

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