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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wind — moving air
  3. kid — to tease
  4. root — of a word
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. root — of a plant
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wind — moving air
  11. land — ground
  12. key — in music
  13. land — to come down
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. root — the cause
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. kid — child
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. land — a country
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. key — the most important part
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. patient — a sick person

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