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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. season — in sport
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. land — a country
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. land — to come down
  10. root — the cause
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bore — to tire
  15. season — of the year
  16. bore — to drill
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. court — of law
  19. root — of a word
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — for sport
  24. root — of a plant

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