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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. date — the fruit
  3. land — ground
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. face — to point toward
  7. root — of a plant
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. mug — a face
  10. face — to confront
  11. root — of a word
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. face — part of the head
  15. chair — a leader
  16. root — the cause
  17. rush — hurry
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mug — to rob
  20. land — to come down
  21. row — to paddle
  22. land — a country
  23. mug — a cup
  24. rush — a thrill

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