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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. root — of a word
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. content — the amount
  6. root — the cause
  7. lean — thin
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. lean — to bend
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. rest — what's left
  13. root — of a plant
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. chair — a leader
  16. rest — a break
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — happy
  22. drill — the tool
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. rest — what's left

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