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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: ground · lie · cell · kid · root · pitch · wind · mine

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. root — of a plant
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. ground — a position
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mine — for digging
  12. root — of a word
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cell — in biology
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. ground — crushed
  17. lie — to recline
  18. kid — child
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. cell — a phone
  24. lie — an untruth

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