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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · land · pit · season · rule · root · mark · leaves

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. season — of the year
  3. root — of a plant
  4. root — of a word
  5. season — in sport
  6. rule — a law
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a trace
  9. land — a country
  10. file — a line of people
  11. land — to come down
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. rule — government
  14. root — the cause
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. file — a tool
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. pit — a hole
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. pit — in a race
  21. file — a document
  22. mark — a grade
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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