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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. face — to point toward
  3. saw — the tool
  4. content — the amount
  5. land — a country
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. staff — employees
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. degree — from a university
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. degree — an amount
  14. face — part of the head
  15. land — ground
  16. root — the cause
  17. face — to confront
  18. degree — temperature
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. root — of a word
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. saw — the tool
  24. land — to come down

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