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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. row — a line
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. last — to go on
  10. land — to come down
  11. root — of a word
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. chair — a leader
  14. root — the cause
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. last — final
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. last — finally
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. stem — to come from
  23. root — of a plant
  24. temple — a place of worship

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