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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: pass · chest · wake · fine · pop · root · wound · land

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. wake — a trail
  3. fine — high quality
  4. pop — to visit
  5. chest — of your body
  6. land — ground
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pop — soda
  9. chest — a box
  10. root — of a plant
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wound — an injury
  15. root — the cause
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. land — a country
  18. pass — a permit
  19. land — to come down
  20. root — of a word
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pop — music
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. fine — a penalty

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