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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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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: mine · fine · kick · land · root · last · wound · sharp

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. sharp — clever
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. root — of a plant
  5. land — ground
  6. root — the cause
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fine — all right
  9. kick — in football
  10. mine — for digging
  11. last — finally
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. last — to go on
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. fine — high quality
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. root — of a word

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