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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. root — of a word
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bass — the fish
  7. hand — help
  8. chair — a leader
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. capital — money
  14. bulb — for light
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. root — the cause
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. capital — a city
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. root — of a plant
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bass — low music
  24. chair — a professorship

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