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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. root — of a plant
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. hand — help
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fall — the season
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. file — a tool
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. fall — to drop
  16. hand — in cards
  17. file — a line of people
  18. root — of a word
  19. file — a document
  20. root — the cause
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. temple — a place of worship

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