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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 120 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: root · last · mouse · kid · press · content · land · arm

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. last — to go on
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. last — finally
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. last — final
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. content — happy
  9. land — ground
  10. press — a publisher
  11. content — the amount
  12. press — newspapers
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — of a plant
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. kid — child
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. press — to push
  23. land — to come down
  24. root — the cause

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