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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. club — for dancing
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wake — a trail
  5. root — of a word
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. root — the cause
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. capital — a city
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. saw — the tool
  13. kid — child
  14. root — of a plant
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. club — a group
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. capital — money
  20. club — for golf
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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