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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. file — a document
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. root — the cause
  5. file — a tool
  6. degree — from a university
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. bear — the animal
  10. root — of a plant
  11. bear — the animal
  12. file — a line of people
  13. drill — a practice
  14. wake — a trail
  15. pit — in a race
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pit — a hole
  18. root — of a word
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. drill — army training
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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