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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. root — the cause
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mark — a trace
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. land — to come down
  12. march — the month
  13. chair — a leader
  14. mark — a grade
  15. land — ground
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. cell — in biology
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — of a plant
  23. land — a country
  24. bat — 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