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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 120 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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. root — the cause
  3. mate — a partner
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. rule — government
  9. root — of a word
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. chest — of your body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — in a road
  20. kick — in football
  21. chest — a box
  22. root — of a plant
  23. rule — a law
  24. kick — with a leg

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