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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. root — of a word
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. rest — what's left
  5. club — for dancing
  6. chest — of your body
  7. land — a country
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. rest — what's left
  10. land — ground
  11. club — a group
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. rest — a break
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. chest — a box
  19. club — for golf
  20. chest — of your body
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. land — to come down
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. root — the cause

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