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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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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. object — an aim
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. object — a thing
  7. face — to confront
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bear — the animal
  10. root — of a plant
  11. object — to protest
  12. root — the cause
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. face — to point toward
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. root — of a word
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. face — part of the head
  21. fork — in a road
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. bear — the animal

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