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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. chest — a box
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. kid — child
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. prune — to trim
  8. kid — to tease
  9. root — of a word
  10. charge — electricity
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. prune — to trim
  13. root — the cause
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. charge — in control
  18. charge — a price
  19. root — of a plant
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bowl — to roll

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