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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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. chest — of your body
  3. court — of law
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. chest — a box
  6. ground — crushed
  7. root — of a word
  8. ground — a position
  9. swing — in golf
  10. root — the cause
  11. court — for sport
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. court — of a king
  17. ground — the earth
  18. tube — a container
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. tube — the underground
  21. swing — to play on
  22. chest — of your body
  23. swing — music
  24. straw — a straw man

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