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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. foot — a measure
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cap — of ice
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. game — a match
  14. root — the cause
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wound — an injury
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. wound — an injury

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