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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. swing — music
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. mine — for digging
  7. foot — a measure
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. swing — to play on
  10. tube — the underground
  11. swing — in golf
  12. season — in sport
  13. root — the cause
  14. tube — a container
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. root — of a plant
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. season — of the year
  24. foot — the bottom

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