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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 120 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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. pop — soda
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — army training
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. pop — music
  7. root — of a plant
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. root — of a word
  12. pop — to visit
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. root — the cause
  15. cold — an illness
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitch — completely
  19. drill — the tool
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. chair — a leader

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