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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. court — of law
  3. chair — a leader
  4. root — of a word
  5. season — in sport
  6. root — the cause
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. root — of a plant
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. ground — the earth
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. court — of a king
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. pitch — completely
  18. season — of the year
  19. ground — a position
  20. dip — to sink
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. court — for sport
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. ground — crushed

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