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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. land — to come down
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. prune — to trim
  8. root — the cause
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. land — ground
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. press — newspapers
  13. root — of a word
  14. land — a country
  15. root — of a plant
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. press — a publisher
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. press — to push
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. lash — an eyelash

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