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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. wake — a trail
  4. chest — of your body
  5. root — of a word
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chest — a box
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. net — in sport
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. chip — for betting
  12. row — a line
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. row — to paddle
  16. chest — of your body
  17. net — after costs
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. root — the cause
  21. foot — a measure
  22. root — of a plant
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — in a computer

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