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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. root — of a plant
  3. squash — the sport
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. mine — for digging
  6. squash — to crush
  7. row — a line
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. root — the cause
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. last — finally
  12. foot — a measure
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. stand — to bear
  15. last — to go on
  16. row — to paddle
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. last — final
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. root — of a word

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