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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 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. last — final
  3. chip — to eat
  4. firm — a company
  5. swing — in golf
  6. rash — a series
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. swing — to play on
  10. rule — a law
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. root — of a plant
  13. last — to go on
  14. rule — government
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. chip — for betting
  17. root — the cause
  18. firm — decided
  19. swing — music
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. rash — hasty
  23. firm — steady
  24. last — finally

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