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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 116 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. chair — a leader
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rash — hasty
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. rock — music
  9. tear — from crying
  10. root — of a plant
  11. can — a tin
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rash — a series
  14. can — to be able to
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. tear — from crying
  21. root — the cause
  22. can — a tin
  23. drill — a practice
  24. file — a document

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