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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 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. land — a country
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. face — part of the head
  5. bass — the fish
  6. mate — to breed
  7. face — to point toward
  8. mate — a partner
  9. root — of a plant
  10. mate — a friend
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. root — the cause
  13. bass — low music
  14. land — ground
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. face — to confront
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. land — to come down
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. shower — rain
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wind — moving air

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