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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. root — of a word
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. face — to confront
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. court — for sport
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. season — in sport
  13. root — of a plant
  14. dip — to sink
  15. court — of law
  16. face — to point toward
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. net — after costs
  20. root — the cause
  21. court — of a king
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. season — of the year
  24. face — part of the head

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