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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. root — of a word
  3. march — music
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. game — wild animals
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chair — a leader
  8. root — of a plant
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. root — the cause
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. game — a match
  22. snap — to click
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — the animal

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