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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. root — the cause
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. chair — a leader
  6. club — for dancing
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fall — the season
  9. club — a group
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. fall — to drop
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. tube — a container
  17. prune — to trim
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. tube — the underground
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. root — of a plant
  23. sharp — clever
  24. root — of a word

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