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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. land — ground
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. root — of a word
  6. last — final
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. root — of a plant
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. chair — a leader
  12. toast — bread
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. mate — a partner
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. land — a country
  18. last — to go on
  19. land — to come down
  20. root — the cause
  21. mate — a friend
  22. last — finally
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. mate — to breed

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