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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. last — final
  2. chest — of your body
  3. club — for dancing
  4. last — finally
  5. land — to come down
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. chest — of your body
  9. last — to go on
  10. land — ground
  11. root — of a word
  12. row — to paddle
  13. vault — a safe
  14. club — a group
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. root — the cause
  17. field — a subject
  18. club — for golf
  19. field — for sport
  20. row — a line
  21. field — farmland
  22. land — a country
  23. chest — a box
  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