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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. root — of a word
  4. staff — employees
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. last — final
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. staff — employees
  15. last — finally
  16. season — of the year
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. staff — a stick
  19. root — of a plant
  20. season — in sport
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. last — to go on
  24. root — the cause

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