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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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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: drill · rash · land · hand · swing · leaves · chip · root

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. drill — the tool
  4. chip — for betting
  5. land — ground
  6. drill — army training
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — hasty
  10. swing — to play on
  11. land — a country
  12. swing — in golf
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. drill — a practice
  15. swing — music
  16. root — of a plant
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. land — to come down
  19. chip — to eat
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. hand — help
  22. root — the cause
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. hand — in cards

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