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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. root — of a word
  4. capital — a city
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. suit — in cards
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — money
  10. suit — to fit
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. root — the cause
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chair — a leader
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. rock — a stone
  19. suit — clothes
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. root — of a plant
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rock — music
  24. trunk — of a tree

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