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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: mate · content · cell · land · leaves · row · root · fall

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. mate — a friend
  3. fall — the season
  4. mate — to breed
  5. cell — in biology
  6. land — ground
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. row — to paddle
  10. fall — to drop
  11. land — to come down
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. fall — to drop
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. root — the cause
  16. content — happy
  17. land — a country
  18. root — of a plant
  19. row — a line
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. mate — a partner
  23. cell — a phone
  24. content — the amount

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