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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  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. chair — a professorship
  2. root — the cause
  3. root — of a word
  4. pop — soda
  5. chair — a leader
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. rest — a break
  8. band — a ring
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. rest — what's left
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bank — of a river
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. rest — what's left
  16. game — a match
  17. pop — music
  18. bank — for money
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. band — a music group
  23. bank — for money
  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