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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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. cell — a phone
  3. land — to come down
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cell — in biology
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. suit — in cards
  10. sharp — clever
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. root — the cause
  15. land — a country
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. suit — to fit
  21. land — ground
  22. root — of a word
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. kid — child

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