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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: pop · row · present · mate · ground · last · chest · root

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. ground — crushed
  3. last — to go on
  4. present — there
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — to visit
  7. mate — a partner
  8. chest — of your body
  9. present — the time now
  10. chest — of your body
  11. present — a gift
  12. root — of a word
  13. row — to paddle
  14. chest — a box
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. last — finally
  18. mate — to breed
  19. root — of a plant
  20. ground — the earth
  21. root — the cause
  22. ground — a position
  23. pop — music
  24. mate — a friend

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