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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.

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: coach · bear · rash · land · root · clip · wave · bat

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. rash — a series
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. root — of a word
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. land — ground
  15. root — the cause
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bat — the animal
  19. root — of a plant
  20. bear — the animal
  21. land — to come down
  22. bear — the animal
  23. rash — hasty
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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