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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · root · bore · patient · sharp · bat · row · land

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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. bat — in an idiom
  4. land — to come down
  5. spring — of water
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bore — to tire
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. root — the cause
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. bat — the animal
  12. spring — the season
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bore — to drill
  15. spring — a coil
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. row — a line
  19. land — ground
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. root — of a plant
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bore — gave birth

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