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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. shower — to wash
  4. last — to go on
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. root — of a word
  11. rock — music
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. last — finally
  14. squash — the sport
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. root — the cause
  18. last — final
  19. shower — rain
  20. field — a subject
  21. foot — a measure
  22. rock — a stone
  23. root — of a plant
  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