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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. object — to protest
  4. last — to go on
  5. root — the cause
  6. chair — a leader
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — a thing
  9. last — finally
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. root — of a word
  13. row — a line
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. ball — a dance
  17. row — to paddle
  18. scale — in music
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. last — final
  21. root — of a plant
  22. ball — a great time
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. scale — size or range

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