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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. root — the cause
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. shower — to wash
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. shower — rain
  9. bat — the animal
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. root — of a plant
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. spell — letters
  15. land — ground
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. land — a country
  18. land — to come down
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — a short time

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