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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. root — of a word
  3. chest — a box
  4. present — there
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. root — the cause
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. present — a gift
  9. chest — of your body
  10. current — electric
  11. chair — a leader
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. present — the time now
  15. tear — from crying
  16. current — of water
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. current — happening now
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. root — of a plant

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