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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — in music
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. degree — an amount
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. key — the most important part
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. root — of a word
  13. bark — to shout
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. root — the cause
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. scale — size or range
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. scale — in music

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