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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 120 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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chair — a leader
  3. root — of a word
  4. swing — music
  5. fall — the season
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. land — to come down
  9. can — to be able to
  10. land — ground
  11. root — of a plant
  12. land — a country
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. can — a tin
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. root — the cause
  19. fork — in a road
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. can — a tin
  22. swing — to play on
  23. mine — for digging
  24. swing — in golf

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