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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. ground — a position
  3. root — of a word
  4. cell — in biology
  5. root — of a plant
  6. mate — a partner
  7. chest — a box
  8. charge — a price
  9. charge — electricity
  10. cell — a phone
  11. chest — of your body
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — crushed
  14. mate — to breed
  15. scale — size or range
  16. mate — a friend
  17. row — a line
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. row — to paddle
  22. root — the cause
  23. charge — in control
  24. chest — of your body

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