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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. drill — army training
  7. rock — music
  8. field — for sport
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a plant
  11. drill — a practice
  12. field — a subject
  13. chair — a leader
  14. shower — to wash
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. field — farmland
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. rock — a stone
  21. drill — the tool
  22. root — of a word
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. chair — a professorship

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