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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. cold — an illness
  3. track — a path
  4. root — the cause
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. root — of a word
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. cell — a phone
  15. foot — a measure
  16. chair — a leader
  17. cold — not warm
  18. track — to keep track
  19. root — of a plant
  20. track — a song
  21. content — happy
  22. hand — in cards
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cold — the Cold War

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