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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. game — wild animals
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. rock — music
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. root — the cause
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. mark — a grade
  11. ground — a position
  12. game — a match
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a trace
  16. rock — a stone
  17. chair — a leader
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. ground — crushed
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. root — of a plant
  24. ground — the earth

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