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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. press — a publisher
  5. root — of a plant
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. perch — the fish
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. chip — to eat
  10. squash — the sport
  11. press — to push
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. squash — to crush
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. press — newspapers
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. land — to come down
  20. root — the cause
  21. kick — in football
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. chip — for betting
  24. root — of a word

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