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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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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: chair · leaves · land · tear · root · mine · drill · deal

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. land — ground
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mine — for digging
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. root — of a word
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. drill — the tool
  16. deal — to handle
  17. chair — a leader
  18. root — of a plant
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. tear — to rip
  21. drill — army training
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. root — the cause
  24. mine — an explosive

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