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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. swing — music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chair — a leader
  6. root — of a word
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. root — the cause
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. land — ground
  13. chest — of your body
  14. root — of a plant
  15. tube — the underground
  16. land — a country
  17. cell — a phone
  18. land — to come down
  19. swing — to play on
  20. tube — a container
  21. swing — in golf
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. chest — a box

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