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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: wind · root · drill · pitcher · cue · present · land · temple

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cue — a signal
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. root — of a plant
  6. wind — moving air
  7. drill — a practice
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. present — there
  10. cue — for pool
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. present — a gift
  13. land — to come down
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. root — of a word
  16. present — the time now
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — the tool
  21. land — ground
  22. root — the cause
  23. wind — moving air
  24. temple — a place of worship

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